IGP Secures Italian Training Offer for 5,000 Police Officers

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has secured an offer of specialised training for up to 5,000 Nigerian police personnel following engagements with Italian law enforcement authorities.

The proposed training is part of a broader security cooperation framework involving Nigeria, Italy and the United States, aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of the Nigeria Police Force to tackle terrorism, kidnapping, arms trafficking and other security threats.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the offer emerged during Disu’s working visit to Italy, where he held discussions with senior Italian police officials on training, technical assistance and institutional development.

The programme is expected to prioritise counter-insurgency operations and policing in challenging rural and forested areas. It would cover tactical operations, intelligence-led patrols, critical infrastructure protection, digital and scientific forensics, cybercrime investigations, explosives detection, financial investigations, asset tracing and anti-extortion techniques.

The training would also extend beyond the Police Mobile Force to specialised units, including explosive ordnance disposal and forensic teams.

During the visit, Disu met with the Commander General of the Italian Carabinieri, Lieutenant-General Salvatore Luongo, to explore opportunities for technical assistance and institutional cooperation.

The Nigerian delegation also visited the Carabinieri Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units in Vicenza, where it assessed training facilities and discussed adapting specialised programmes to Nigeria’s security needs.

Other proposals include command courses for 40 senior police officers, leadership training for 100 junior commanders and the deployment of a mobile assistance team to support Police Mobile Force training schools in Gwoza, Borno State, and Ila-Orangun, Osun State.

The discussions also covered possible Italian support for developing a national stability policing doctrine and standard operating procedures to improve operational coordination, professionalism and civilian protection, particularly in communities recovering from conflict.

Additional areas of potential cooperation include canine operations, forensic science and mounted policing.

To advance the proposals, the IGP called for a Memorandum of Understanding covering specialised training, technology transfer and operational doctrine. He also invited an assessment team from the Italian Carabinieri to Abuja to identify priority needs and develop implementation arrangements.

The police statement did not provide a commencement date for the proposed training programme.