Minister Seeks EU Support For Nigeria Police

The minister of State for Police Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has sought collaboration, partnership and technical support for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) from the European Union (EU), to enable the Police ecosystem to achieve its target of deploying global norms and best practices.

She stated this during a meeting with a EU team led by the European Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Samuela Isopi, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Police Affairs in Abuja.

Spokesperson of the ministry, Bolaji Kazeem, said the minister noted that partnership should be in the areas of addressing policy gaps and capacity building that will boost the capacity of an existing and evolving Nigeria Police Force in the country.

In her words, “What we are looking at is the community-based policing with intelligence-led and technology-driven. That is the face of every police force globally, the path we like to go. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation ( EUROPO), has a lot of capacity in that area and if we work together, we will achieve a lot.

“I am seeking every support that can be for the Ministry to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda which has policing components and none of them can work without it. We are harmonizing various police reforms that are in existence, analyzing why they are not fully implemented, and coming up with what we can achieve within two to three years.”

Earlier, Isopi stated that the EU will continue to support all Nigeria’s relevant agencies that are involved in improving the coordination of policing in the areas of training and capacity building.

She added that the European Union has a good collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, noting that they work together within the framework of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.