From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi

A National Counter Terrorism Incident Commanders Management Course for Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) and Chief Superintendents of Police ( CSPs) as well as their counterparts in other security agencies has opened in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Declaring the workshop open, on Monday, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, said the essence of the training was to expose participants to actions they should take in emergency situations as a way of curtailing the security quagmire the country has found itself.

“The essence of the training is to improve the capacity of the police and other allied agencies. When we have situations such as the farmer/ herdsmen clashes, terrorism, militancy among others, the police are the first responders. The police needs to grapple with these challenges. That is why the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the UK Government decided to train officers and other security agencies in emergency response to such security situations.”

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Represented by Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Counter Terrorism Unit, AIG Dan Bature, the IGP noted that Nigeria is presently battling with a lot of security challenges which it did not envisage before now, hence the need to build the capacity of the police officers to respond to any situation they will face in the course of their work.

He disclosed that the training would be carried out across the 36 states of the federation adding that for the Zone 4 Police unit which covers Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau States, 150 officers drawn from the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Fire Sevice, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as the Military would participate in the weeklong training.

On his part, the Commissioner of Police in charge of Benue, Bashir Makama who was represented by his deputy, DCP Bolaji Fafowora explained that the program was first of its kind in the state and urged participants to take advantage and be attentive to boost their knowledge.