No fewer than 1220 Police personnel of the Special Weapons and Tactical Team (SWAT) recently constituted, are currently undergoing training.
At least, 420 of them, drawn from 13 states, are having their training at the Police Mobile training college at Ende Hills in Nasarawa State while another 800 are undergoing same training at Ila Oregun, Osun State.
This was disclosed in a statement by Odutayo Oluseyi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Police Affairs.
According to the statement, the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, visited the venue to observe, inspect and supervise the training of the SWAT put in place to replace the recently disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Monday, 2nd November, 2020.
The Minister expressed the commitment of President Muhammad Buhari in reforming the Nigeria Police.
He encouraged the trainees to be professional in the discharge of their duties since government is placing their welfare at top priority.
Dingyadi said the training will better equip them with necessary skills in line with best global practice.
He said further that the respect of human rights and protection of lives and property were non-negotiable obligation on the part of the Police, particularly the new SWAT team.
While inspecting the trainees, who are in the 3rd week of training, the Minister said he would still tour Lagos and other states where Police stations and barracks were destroyed as a result of the #EndSARS protest hijacked by miscreants.
Speaking also at the inspection of the officers on the training field, the President of Youth hub for Africa, Mr. Rotimi Olawale, said he was impressed with the training modules and wished more women will be involved.