Ahead of the forthcoming General Elections, the Police High Command has commenced a two-week fully residential refresher training for all its 79 Squadron Commanders of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force at the Police Mobile Force Training College, Ila-Orangun, Osun State.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi from 9th to 23rd January 2023.
According to the statement, the training programme held from 9th to 23rd January this year, was in line with the mission of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on training and human capacity development.
It added that the training “is geared at strengthening the operational efficiency of the Squadron Commanders and for more effective tactical deployment of their personnel to ensure a secured and hitch-free environment before, during, and after the 2023 General Elections to generally reduce crimes to their barest minimum in Nigeria.”
According to it, “some of the focus of the course includes the use of contemporary riot control gadgets for suppression of riots and other serious disturbances, crowd control techniques, ambush and counter-ambush, diplomatic protection, combating internal security challenges and insurgency as well as gun safety and weapons handling.”
It further explained that the IGP charged officers and men of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), the punching arm of the Force, to effectively make use of the opportunities the training would offer them and improve their crime control mechanisms and general safety strategies, especially towards having free, fair and credible 2023 General Elections.
The statement added that this came just as the IGP had met with representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) on Thursday in Abuja to discuss possible areas of partnership to strengthen the oversight and accountability mechanisms of the Nigeria Police Force including the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) and the Provost Department of the Force.
It stated that the meeting discussed synergy between the foreign agencies, the Police Reform and Transformation Office (PORTO), the office of the President Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Police to improve the policing system in Nigeria and handle disciplinary matters judiciously.
According to it, the Inspector-General of Police assured that his administration would collaborate with every sector to sanitize the police towards the achievement of his vision for a people-oriented Nigeria Police.