By Odimmegwa Johnpeter, Abuja
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has stated that the current security challenges in the Country require a whole-of-nation approach to tackle. He made this known while playing host to the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, who was at the Headquarters Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on a courtesy visit. Air Marshal Amao noted that twenty-first-century security challenges require strong collaboration and strategic partnerships among the security agencies to successfully overcome them. According to him, the visit of the Acting IGP is a strong demonstration of The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) commitment towards collaboration with sister security agencies. This was contained in a statement signed by Air Commodore, Edward Gabkwet, Director of Public Relations and Information
The CAS recounted several instances where the NAF had conducted various internal security operations with the NPF, noting that the NAF would continue to provide necessary support whenever required. The CAS noted that in internal security operations, the NPF is the lead agency, however, due to military involvement in internal operations, the Defence Headquarters has now taken over the responsibility. “Although the military is trained to contain external aggression, we hope to leverage on the experience of the police as we wade into internal security operations,” he said. While congratulating the IGP on his recent appointment, the CAS emphasized the need for constant interface and intelligence sharing between the Nigeria Police and other security agencies.
In his remarks, the IGP restated the commitment of the NPF to strengthen the existing cordial relationship between the NPF and the NAF, which he said had yielded several mutually beneficial collaborations in addressing internal security challenges in the Country. According to him, “internal security is not all about the Police and other security agencies. Due to the current circumstances of insecurity in the country, the military is currently involved in internal security operations to maintain law and order in all the 36 States of Nigeria.” The IGP added that the issue of collaboration and synergy is key to ensuring that law and order are maintained in the country so as to enable Nigerians to go about their lawful businesses.
Speaking further, the IGP stated that crime and criminality have become more technologically advanced, hence the need for all security agencies to synergise their efforts and bring their expertise to bear. While commending the NAF for its key role in the fight against insurgency and internal security operations, he emphasized the need for the two agencies to come together and work as a team. According to him, the Nigerian Police and the NAF have a history of working together especially in the areas of training, joint patrol, and airlift of police personnel to places not easily accessible. He also added that his first point of call was to the office of the Chief of Defence Staff which is indicative of the critical role the Armed Forces of Nigeria play in maintaining law and order in the society. The visit was witnessed by some senior police officers from Force Headquarters as well as branch heads from NAF headquarters.
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