As part of efforts aimed at consolidating existing relationship, the Inspection General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, and his Sierra Leonean Counterpart, Dr. Ambrose Michael Sovula, have signed a Cooperation Agreement on bilateral policing.
The Agreement was signed today, 17 August, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where the Sierra Leonean Police Chief is on a five-day working visit, led by his country’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. David Maurice Panda-Noah.
TheFact Nigeria reports that the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, and the Sierra Leone Police, SLP, would be collaborating in such core areas of policing as manpower development, intelligence sharing, tackling regional and transnational threats and crimes, amongst others.
IGP Alkali, during the meeting, noted that “crime is dynamic especially in planning, perfection and execution, and increasingly resonating beyond the borders where it is committed”.
To successfully confront regional security threats, he said, there was the need for continuous bilateral police cooperation and network, among other things.
The IGP stated that the Nigeria Police Force has a historically unique relationship with the Sierra Leone Police, especially in the area of capacity building, noting for instance that in 1996, the NPF offered slots for the training of seven Sierra Leonean cadet officers at the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano.
IGP Baba proudly observed that amongst the officers trained at the time, are AIG Ahamdu Mannah and CP Austine Kaile, the current Director of Operations in the SLP, and the current Police Commissioner for the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), respectively.
In addition, the Nigerian Police Chief mentioned that ten Senior Sierra Leonean Police officers are part of the course participants currently attending the Strategic Leadership Command Course at the Nigeria Police National Institute of Police Studies, Abuja.
On his part, the SLP boss, appreciated IGP Alkali for approving the participation of the ten Senior Sierra Leonean Police officers in the ongoing Strategic Leadership and Command Course at the Nigeria Police National Institute of Police Studies, Abuja.
He commended the leadership of the NPF for the collaboration especially in the area of training and capacity building and expressed his belief that it will enhance the strategic management and operational visibility of the Sierra Leone Police.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Republic of Sierra Leone, and leader of the Sierra Leonean delegation, Mr. David Maurice Panda-Noah, in his remarks, expressed the appreciation of the Government and People of Sierra Leone for the collaborative relationship between the two Police organizations.
He affirmed that the synergy has indeed impacted positively on policing services in Sierra Leone, and expressed hope that the signing of the Cooperation Agreement would enable both countries perfect a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would help evolve a formidable policing collaboration between the two West African countries.
Meanwhile, IGP Alkali has reiterated that the Nigeria Police Force would sustain valuable relationship with other law enforcement partners within the West-African region and across the globe, towards enhancing policing exchanges and staging common regional fronts in tackling crimes and criminality and improving public safety and security.
In attendance at the bilateral policing engagement were the High Commissioner of the Republic of Sierra Leone to Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Solomon Momoh Christopher, members of the NPF Management Team, Senior Officers of the Nigeria Police Force and other Members of the Sierra Leone Police delegation.
