FBI training for EFCC, SSS, police officers

BARRING any last minute changes, another batch of officials from the United States (U.S.) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are due in Nigeria this weekend.

Their mission is to commence a five-day training programme on strategies to combat hostage taking and negotiation for officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and officers of other law enforcement agencies such as the police and State Security Service (SSS).

The training programme, scheduled to be in five phases, began in September after the EFCC chairman, Farida Waziri returned from a two-day visit to the U.S., where she held talks with officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ), FBI and Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Mario Otero, in Washington D.C. in August this year.

Part of the resolutions at the series of meetings which were also attended by the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Prof Adebowale Adefuye, was to assist the Federal Government to effectively tackle the problem of corruption and terrorism.

As part of the fulfilment of its commitment to consolidate the strategic partnership between the two countries, the U.S. had in August sent about seven FBI officers to train some EFCC officials and others at the commission’s Training and Research Institute (TRI) in Karu, Abuja.

No fewer than 10 EFCC officials, along with representatives of some selected security agencies, will assemble to sharpen their skills on how to curb hostage taking, tackle terrorism and corruption between November 29 and December 5.

Spokesman for the anti-graft agency, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the development and said : “More of our officers will still benefit from the FBI training programme in the coming weeks in specific fields such as interviewing and interrogation, major case management as well as basic forensics.”