UK to send team of policing advisers to Nigeria to help combat the growing spate of insecurity

BRITAIN is planning to send a team of police advisers to Nigeria over the coming months as part of a plan to help the country combat the growing spare of insecurity that has turned large swathes of the nation into no-go areas.

Of late, Nigeria has been wracked by terrible insecurity no several fronts, leaving the authorities hopelessly overwhelmed. Apart from the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast of the country, armed bandits are roaming wild across the northwest, heavily armed Fulani cattle herdsmen have taken over large swathes if rural Nigeria and  kidnappers are having a field day across the country.

Vicky Ford, UK Minister for Africa, said that in a bid to help, the British government will send advisors to Nigeria to share knowledge on community policing. She said this will also help the Nigerian police roll out community policing, especially in areas that have seen conflict.

Ms Ford said: “What we know in UK and in Nigeria is that to keep civilians safe, you need to have effective, accountable, transparent community policing. That is part of the work that we would be doing through sending advisors to share experiences to help the Nigerian police forces adapt, so that they will be able to respond to incidents in a more timely and more effective manner.

"These are areas Nigerians have identified issues that they would like help with and we can then bring in that support and share experiences. The UK has a strategy across Africa to work with countries to form partnerships, to help create freer, safer, greener and more prosperous culture and we see Nigeria as an absolutely key partner in that.

"Nigeria is really important for its own stability and also for the work they are doing for regional stability and security. Insecurity in Nigeria and West Africa also impacts security which is why we want to work with Nigeria as a trusted friend and partner,”

She added that this is not the UK telling Nigeria how to do things but Nigeria identifying areas the UK can support them. Ms Ford said officials are already working together on issues of terrorist threats and how to share UK’s lessons on community policing to improve security across Nigeria.