Nigeria Police Force strengthens counter-terrorism investigation capacity

The Nigeria Police Force says it is moving to strengthen its counter-terrorism investigation capacity after a team of officers completed a specialised United Nations-backed training programme in Morocco.

The training programme is aimed at improving intelligence-led investigations and disrupting terrorist networks.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu.

The three-week Train-the-Trainer programme, held in Rabat from July 13 to 31, brought together law enforcement officers from Nigeria, Kenya and Burkina Faso. It was organised by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) under its Global Counter-Terrorism Investigations Programme in collaboration with Al Akhawayn University.

According to the statement, a 10-member Nigerian delegation led by ACP Favour Fadawa of the Nigeria Police Academy participated in the programme, which focused on identifying terrorist networks, dismantling criminal organisations, preserving admissible evidence and conducting investigations in line with the rule of law.

Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, said the training comes as security agencies face increasingly complex terrorist and transnational criminal threats, stressing that the knowledge gained would strengthen police investigations and intelligence gathering.

The IGP directed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Training and Development, DIG Isyaku Mohammed, and the Commandant of the Nigeria Police Academy to integrate the training into the Force’s curriculum to enable more officers benefit from the programme.

He also disclosed that plans to commence an Executive Master’s Programme at the Nigeria Police Academy have reached an advanced stage following progress in its accreditation process.

The statement added that the Force expressed appreciation to the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Al Akhawayn University, participating countries and the Government of Morocco for supporting the initiative.

It noted that the training is expected to strengthen the Nigeria Police Force’s investigative capacity in tackling terrorism, violent extremism and other forms of transnational organised crime through intelligence-led policing.