144 Nigerian Police officers have arrived in Somalia on Saturday to serve under the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) for a period of one year.
They have been deployed to Somalia to mentor and provide operational support to the Somali Police Force.
AMISOM Police Operations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Daniel Ali Gwambal said 30 police officers will be deployed to Beletweyne in HirShabelle State, while the rest will serve in various roles in the capital, Mogadishu.
Among other duties, the officers will work on providing VIP escort and protection services, training and assisting the SPF in public order management, conducting joint patrols with their Somali counterparts and securing key government installations and high-level events.
Daniel Ali added that they are in Somalia to fulfil the AMISOM mandate with regards to operational support to the Somalis and at the same time to mentor the Somali Police Force. There are certain specific duties that are also incumbent on them to perform while they are here such as regular patrols at checkpoints, guard static duties and other duties that involve general policing.
The commander of the newly deployed unit, Superintendent of Police Samuel Ita, says his officers are eager to begin discharging their duties, and help advance the mission’s mandate.