Minister seeks EU’s technical support for Nigeria Police

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The Minister of State, Police Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim has sought technical support from the European Union, (EU) for the Nigeria Police Force, (NPF) to enable the police ecosystem to achieve its target of deploying global norms and best practices.

Suleiman-Ibrahim requested a meeting with the EU team led by the European Ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

The minister, according to a statement signed by the Deputy Director of Press in the ministry, Bolaji Kazeem stated that the technical support and partnership should be in the area of addressing policy gaps and capacity building that would boost the performances of the Police Force.

According to her, the Renewed Hope Agenda has eight components with peace and security being one of them, stressing the need for collaboration between the ministry and the EU in the area of reforms, capacity building, and community policing to curb transnational crimes for collective achievements.

She said: “What we are looking at is community-based policing, intelligence-led and technology-driven. That is the face of every police force globally, the path we like to go. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPO) has a lot of capacity in that area and if we work together, we will achieve a lot.

“I am seeking every support that can be for the ministry to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda which has policing components and none of them can work without it. We are harmonizing various police reforms that are in existence, analyzing why they are not fully implemented, and coming up with what we can achieve within two to three years.”

Earlier, the European Ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi stated that the EU would continue to support all Nigeria’s relevant agencies that are involved in improving the coordination of policing in the areas of training and capacity building.

She added that the EU has a good collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, noting that they work together within the framework of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.

“We have been doing capacity and supporting coordination at national, regional, and international levels,” she disclosed.

Isopi pointed out that the EU has a new migration programme which will be signed next week, stressing that “the agreement is essential because it is a political tool to do more in other areas.

“We are preparing a new phase of our program to end gender-based violence and we need your cooperation and support to work together.”