ABUJA (Interior Ministry’ Report)- The Federal Government has given assurance of protecting lives and property of its citizens, which is the primary responsibility of government.
The Minister of Interior, Lt Gen (Rtd) Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau,gave the assurance in Abuja when he received the Royal College of Defence (Study Tour Team) bweon a study tour of West Africa.
Dambazau informed the tour team that the Ministry of Interior, with the mandate of maintaining public safety and internal security, has been involved in post-conflict peace-building in the North-East, following the defeat of Boko Haram, which has in recent times besieged Nigeria.
He said that part of the master plan for boosting the internal security architecture of the country include the establishment of good communication; community policing, whereby citizens are encouraged to be involved; capacity-building of the Police for maximum functioning; and the establishment of a multi-agency situation room, aimed at integrating the various services in a common purpose of monitoring and providing information on activities in the cities real time.
Other security threats, according to the Minister, include the proliferation of small arms and light weapon, Niger Delta militancy, and ecological challenges, which gives rise to desertification, and invariably leads to migration of humans and livestock, which is the major cause of pastoralists and sedentary farmers’ conflicts.
He disclosed that in dealing with security challenges, Nigeria has also signed Memoranda of Understanding and Agreements with the United Kingdom in areas such as irregular migration, prisoner transfer and capacity building; and is also on joint operations with UK on investigations, sharing of information and intelligence, and airport liaison, while the UK is providing technical assistance on equipment and forensic analysis, adding that the UK has been a close ally of Nigeria as she battles security challenges.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the Royal College of Defence Studies (Overseas Study Tour 2017 – West Africa), Maj. Gen. Craig Lawrence, said they were on tour of West Africa and in Nigeria to gain an insight on how Nigeria has been dealing with its security challenges.
Gen. Lawrence thanked the Minister for receiving them and providing them with a detailed brief on the workings of the Ministry of Interior, which he promised would be incorporated into their report.
