Police Reforms; Minister Seeks European Unions Support

Oluwakemi Kindness

The Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam has sought for the partnership and support of the European Union to actualize police reforms.

This is as he reiterated the efforts of the Federal Government to create a more responsive and professional police service in Nigeria.

Senator Gaidem stated this during the courtesy visit of the European Union Embassy delegation led by the Ambassador Gautier Mignot to the Headquarters of the Ministry in Abuja.

The Minister said the expertise, resources, and experience in police reform and governance could significantly contribute to greatly to the efforts of the government in Nigeria.

In his words, “Your Excellency, I would like to brief you on the ongoing Nigerian Police reform exercise, which is being overseen by the Ministry of Police Affairs. This initiative aims to enhance the effectiveness, accountability, and community engagement of the Nigerian Police Force”.

A statement on Tuesday by the Deputy Director Information, Bolaji Kazeem, Senator Gaidam posited that Key areas of focus include improved training, better resource allocation, and the establishment of more robust oversight mechanisms to ensure transparency and public trust.

He recalled that European Union has been at the forefront of supporting regional security initiatives, including the West Africa Police Information System (WAPIS).

This initiative, supported by INTERPOL, has significantly enhanced the ability of law enforcement agencies across West Africa to share critical police information electronically, the Minister stressed.

According to him, “By improving coordination, WAPIS has played a vital role in combating transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, human smuggling, and terrorism threats that continue to challenge our national security.

The Minister posited that, the European Union and ECOWAS have remained committed to ensuring the full rollout of WAPIS across all ECOWAS countries and Mauritania. Noting that funding was made available for the initiative from November 2017 and extended to May 2025.

He expressed the prevailing security challenges in Nigeria and the broader West African region adding that, it is imperative that they work towards securing continuous EU funding for the full implementation and sustainability of the WAPIS system.

“Additional technical assistance and capacity-building support will further enhance Nigeria’s law enforcement capabilities and ensure that we maximize the impact of this crucial initiative|”. Gaidam noted.

Earlier, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Gautier Mignot reiterated that the Ministry of Police Affairs is one of the Ministries they reach out to and one of the main partners adding that, the cooperation is base on share values and interests, respect for rule of law, human rights, democracy noting that the police is the core of the expression of these values.

He said stability and security in Nigeria and ECOWAS is of interest to European Union and at a time that the world is evolving very quickly on issues relating to the regional environment and the need to reform and strengthen the criminal justice system, tackle gender-based violence, fight against human trafficking in person.

In his words, “Migration issues, we are addressing issues we are facing worldwide with the very powerful criminal networks, this is very so important to work hand in hand to fight the networks, dismantle them and protect the victims”