As part of enduring strategic cooperation in building resilient security institutions and promoting regional stability, the National Counter Terrorism Centre, now Regional Centre of Excellence for Counter Terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel as declared by the President in partnership with the British High Commission, have began a 2-week capacity building courses, that is, the Silver, Gold, Intelligence Analysis and Train the Trainer Aviation Security Courses in Abuja.
Declaring the the four courses open at the combined opening ceremony which marked the first time, the centre will be hosting four courses simultaneously, the National Coordinator of the Centre, Major General Adamu Laka explained that the Silver and Gold Commanders training courses are follow-ups to the Strategic Commanders’ Course that was conducted in February.
Maj.General Laka noted that the British High Commission have requested to conduct a crisis management training immediately after the completion of the Gold and Silver Incident Courses and we are glad to host same.
He said it is designed to equip commanders at various levels with the necessary skills to respond effectively to incidents. This training will undoubtedly play a critical role in preparing us for the upcoming Exercise RAPID RESPONSE.
The Gold Incident Commanders Course according to the Coordinator is specifically designed for those working at the strategic command level, while the Silver Incident Course targets those at the operational command level.
"I am confident that the carefully selected attendees will benefit greatly from this training as it will further hone their skills in crisis management.
"On the other hand, the Train the Trainer Aviation Security Course is designed to equip trainers with the knowledge and skills to deliver effective security culture training, enabling us to develop Nigerian-specific training materials and tailor security culture programmes to our unique needs. This will enhance our aviation security and contribute to a safer aviation ecosystem.
"Similarly, the Intelligence Analysis Course is aimed at providing participants with essential skills to identify individuals, understand intelligence assessment, conduct analysis, and recognize patterns. These skills will be invaluable in enhancing our national security. Our goal is to build a robust intelligence analysis capability that supports decision-making at the strategic level.
"The expertise and experience shared during this training will undoubtedly enrich our understanding of crisis management, aviation security and intelligence analysis. As we embark on this training, I encourage all participants to actively engage, ask questions and share their perspectives. Work together to leverage your varied expertise and experience
The coordinator reminds them that the knowledge and networks they will build will strengthen individual capacities and also fortify the collective security architecture of the Regions. "The friendships and professional bonds you establish during this training will serve as invaluable assets in our shared mission to combat terrorism and violent extremism," he said
In his remarks, one of the instructors, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Tyler, thanked the centre for the continued partnership with the British High Commission on capacity building. He expressed appreciation to all the trainers and organisers for their dedication and commitment to this training.
"Thank Nigeria for allowing us to come in to collaborate with your country. The partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom is very strong and we wish to maintain that strength between our two countries as we go forward. As the General articulated, we're here to deliver a gold and silver command training along with some intelligence training to Nigeria.
"We've brought in some experts from the United Kingdom, two former police officers with a wealth of experience within the police field, moved into contracting that will deliver the gold, which is the strategic command training, along with the silver at the operational level. I please implore you to ask questions. Please get their experience.
"We have a saying in the United Kingdom, there's no such thing as a silly question or stupid question. If you don't know, you don't know. Please ask.
"And that's the same with the intelligence training. Please ask the questions from the two instructors that we've got, our military instructors from the United Kingdom military. Please ask the questions.
"Please ask those difficult questions. That's why they're here to answer them. Like I said, they're both experts in their field with a wealth of knowledge, so please lean on that knowledge, lean on that experience, and then together we can hopefully increase Nigeria's operational output on the way that we together can deal with the threat of terrorism that is right across the Sahel, and what Nigeria is dealing with, where together we can hopefully battle that" he said.
Participants for these four courses, that is, the Silver were from Operation Commander level, Gold were from Strategic command level, Intelligence Analysis, and Train the Trainer Aviation Security Courses were carefully selected and drawn from various agencies, in advancing our shared goal of a safer Nigeria and region.