Insecurity: Minister Seeks Aerial Assistance From Turkey

Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam has called for the assistance of Turkey in the area of aerial surveillance and technical system to tackle insecurity in Nigeria.

The minister, who stated this during the visit of the embassy of Turkey in Nigeria led by Ambassador Hidayet Bayraktar, also stressed the need to explore avenues for collaboration with Turkey in the areas of intelligence sharing and capacity building to combat transnational crimes.

The minister pointed out that the Nigeria Police Force will require the intervention of Turkey in the area of procurement and use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for precise mapping surveillance and intelligence-led policing.

According to him, “As we face ever-evolving terrorism, cybercrime and organized crimes, it is crucial that we strengthen our partnership and work hand in hand to ensure the safety and security of our nations.”

He said the Republic of Turkey shares a long history of diplomatic relations, based on mutual respect, trust and a common vision for progress.

Earlier, Bayraktar thanked Nigeria for the support and donations during the earthquake crisis in Turkey, noting that both countries have a vibrant and important relationship.

He said the level of relationship in the economic, political and military sphere have been overwhelming and growing at a rapid pace stressing that Nigeria plays a major role in the region and Africa.

In his words, “Since Nigeria got independence in 1960, our relationship continued to grow without issues and we intend to sign two agreements on security cooperation and Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation and law enforcement training once we secured approval from Turkey”.