Following the security alert issued by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja to its citizens on likely terrorist attacks in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has launched ‘Operation Darkin Gaggawa’ in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Force public relations officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, while reacting to the alert, said the inspector-general of police, IGP Usman Baba, in his “zeal and strategies to decimate activities of non-state actors and other criminal elements in the FCT and other parts of the country and to analyze and de-escalate threats gathered from various intelligence at the Force’s disposal, U.S. advisory inclusive , announced the immediate commencement of a counter terrorism simulation exercise codenamed “Operation Darkin Gaggawa”.
He further said the exercise will be held within the Force headquarters and the Police Officers Wives Association School opposite Force Headquarters, Abuja, between Tuesday, 25 and Wednesday, 26 October, 2022.
The police also said the exercise will involve diversion of traffic, use of blank ammunition, and other operational manpower and assets and is designed to improve interoperability and synergy among different units and formations of the Force in response to terrorist incidents and other violent crimes.
He also noted that the Force management was reviewing the alert due to the fact that Police, as the lead agency in internal security, will not take any threat intelligence, either actionable or not, for granted, adding that all hands are on deck to collectively nip threats in the bud.
The Force PRO also said the IGP had ordered the FCT commissioner of police, heads of tactical squads domiciled in the FCT and other state command commissioners of police to restrategise security management within their jurisdictions, as the Force headquarters will continually avail them with required support, logistics and deployments necessary for providing safety to all and sundry in Nigeria.
He also assured the residents of the FCT of the safety of lives and property within the country via the effective deployment of tactical and operational assets for effective intelligence gathering and proactive policing.
He reassured Nigerians of a safe and secured country for all, while noting that the NPF will continually work with other security agencies to make every part of Nigeria safe, especially the FCT.
