Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has applauded the effectiveness and selfless services by members of the Nigeria Police Force contingent to peacekeeping operations on the African Continent and around the world aimed at descalating violence in war-torn countries and ensuring peaceful coexistence among members of troubled nations.
In a bid to add more pep and advance the NPF’s drive for enhanced and improved participation in peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations, the Inspector-General of Police recently appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Augustine Moses Jagaba as Director in charge of the Peacekeeping Directorate.
ACP Jagaba holds a Bachelors in Microbiology from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and is currently undergoing his Masters in Security and Strategic Studies from the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. He has served in various capacities within the Force and has participated in peacekeeping operations in Dafur, Sudan, and Haiti.
The IGP noted that the Nigeria Police Force has over the years deployed manpower and material assets to peacekeeping operations all around the world towards enforcing and maintaining peace in Africa and other countries of the world.
Since its first participation in Peacekeeping in 1960 with the deployment of a contingent to Congo, the list of countries with Police peacekeepers is now endless. Nigeria Police peacekeepers have participated in operations in Congo, Namibia, Angola, Western Sahara, Cambodia, Mozambique, Somalia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, East Timor, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Afghanistan, Cote D’Ivoire, Burundi, Haiti, Sudan, South Sudan and Guinea Bissau to mention but a few. The Nigeria Police has deployed more than thirteen thousand (13,000) police officers to various UN/AU and ECOWAS peacekeeping operations.
The Nigeria Police Peacekeeping office was established in 2005 to coordinate peacekeeping activities with the clear vision and mission to research, train and equip officers with requisite skills and competencies required to meet complex peace support operations environment through the delivery of quality internationally recognized and professional training. Nigeria Police Officers have made tremendous achievements while on peace keeping abroad and clinched glory for the Force and the country at large.
The IGP also, charged the new Director to strictly uphold the tenets of the Nigeria Police in peacekeeping selection, training, deployments while reinforcing the various positive achievements that have been recorded over the years.
He further admonished the Director to domesticate standards and principles of modern policing via-a-vis training of police officers, review of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Baton and Rifles Exercises (BARE), musketry, range practices, unarmed combat, etc. to boost quality service delivery of the NPF in maintaining law and order, and public safety in Nigeria.