Odita Sunday 
Odita Sunday
In a major operational shake-up aimed at tackling violent crimes more effectively, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has appointed a new commander to lead its unified response unit.
The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, announced the appointment of Nuhu Usman as Commander of the newly established Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), charging him to uphold professionalism, integrity, and accountability in the discharge of his duties.
The move follows a directive by the Inspector-General of Police to streamline tactical operations nationwide by merging multiple units into a single, more coordinated structure focused on violent crimes and related incidents.
As part of the restructuring, the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in the FCT Command, previously comprising 28 units, has been significantly downsized, with 23 units collapsed.
Officers from the affected units have been redeployed across various divisions, while selected personnel are undergoing retraining in human rights compliance, professionalism, and global policing standards before being deployed to the VCRU.
Police authorities say the reform is designed to improve operational efficiency, strengthen coordination, and ensure a faster, more strategic response to violent crimes across the territory.
Until his new appointment, Usman served as Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-One Chance Unit in the FCT Command. An alumnus of Biochemistry, he was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force in 2012 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police and has attended several professional courses locally and internationally, including a liaison officers’ programme in China.
He has also held key positions such as Unit Commander of the 50 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Kubwa, Sector Commander of the Special Task Force on Petroleum and Illegal Bunkering in the North-East, and Officer-in-Charge of Narcotics in the FCT Command.
While conferring the appointment, Sanusi emphasized that the success of the new unit would depend on discipline, coordination, and strict adherence to best practices in policing, noting that the initiative marks a critical step toward strengthening security architecture in the nation’s capital.
The statement was issued by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Josephine Adeh, on April 22, 2026.
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