The Government of Japan has committed N175 million to capacity building on curbing terrorism and human trafficking in Nigeria.
The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Ryuichi Shoji, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
He said the grant that would be implemented through the UNODC was aimed at supporting two projects; “capacity building for effective prosecution of terrorism offences’’ and “ the fight against trafficking in persons in Nigeria’’.
“The projects are expected to contribute to increased capacity to guide and undertake effective investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons and terrorism-related cases in conformity with the rule of law and human rights,’’ he said.
Shoji, who decried the spate of insurgency in Nigeria, said the projects would go a long way in strengthening the legal and criminal justice aspects of countering terrorism in Nigeria.
He said the project would involve training of officials from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“Through these projects, we hope that the relevant Nigerian organisations can strengthen their capacities against prosecution and trafficking in persons and Nigeria becomes more resilient to terrorism,’’ he said.
Earlier, Mr Aldo Lale-Demoz, Deputy Executive Director, UNODC, said the UNODC had concluded arrangements for capacity building and training of relevant government officials in line with international best practice.
He assured that with the signing of the MoU, the capacity building for NAPTIP, Judicial officials and relevant security agencies would commence almost immediately for a period of one year.
He urged other donor agencies and stakeholders to support Nigeria in its efforts to curb insurgency and terrorism which he said were beginning to spread to neighbouring countries.
Mr Bassey Akpanyung, Secretary, National Planning Commission, who represented the Minister for National Planning, Dr Abubakar Sulaiman, thanked Japan and UNODC for their support.
He said Nigeria would always welcome genuine support and cooperation from international organisations and donor agencies in its bid to ensure a peaceful and virile country
