Police, British High Commission collaborate on democratic policing

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, said that the Police was collaborating with the British High Commission to train its officers in democratic policing in a post-conflict environment.

Idris said this in Abuja on Monday at the opening of a two-day Train the Trainers Seminar on Democratic Policing in the North East.

The seminar was organised by the British High Commission’s conflict and security office in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force.

The police boss said the training would provide officers with the capacity to operate in a post-conflict environment that required lot of sensitivity.

He said that beneficiaries of the seminar would be deployed to the North East to pass on the training to Divisional Police Officers and Area Commanders in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

“I believe the training is going to provide our officers with the capacity to work in post-conflict environments.

“This seminar is very important because it professionalises the operations of the police.

“The military has virtually withdrawn from the North East and we are moving in.

“In some coming months and years, we are going to see more police responsibility in those areas,“ the IGP said.

He urged the participants to make judicious use of the knowledge they will acquire from the training.

Earlier, Mrs Kemi Okeyendo, Team Lead, Policing Component Programme, said that the training was aimed at improving police service delivery to members of the public.

“We will work with the Nigeria Police Force to ensure that accountability, coordination and coherence run all the way through the processes of the police,“ he said.

She said that the training would be followed by a process of coaching and mentoring of the officers.

“We are encouraged to support them on this initiative of democratic and community policing in the North East,“ she said.

Ms Katrina Laird, Nigeria Security and Justice Adviser at the High Commission, said the training was part of the UK support for Nigeria’s fight against insurgency.

She said that the programme would ensure that the affected communities in the North East benefitted from the training.