Hafiz Ringim, Police IG
Determined to address the recurring issue of bomb threat in the country, Federal Government Thursday signed a new agreement with Israel to tackle the menace and other related matters in Nigeria.
Police Affairs Minister, Humphrey Enemakwu, represented Nigeria while the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Moshe Ram and the Minister for Public Safety of Israel, Yizhak Ahamororitz, represented Israel in the deal.
The Minister said the cooperation between Nigeria and Israel has existed since 2009 with an agreement in areas of Security, Trade and Commerce, Petrol-chemical among others.
“National security is no longer one nation’s concern because the world has become one global country, so all the inhabitants are cooperating in order to ensure that the whole world is secured for the benefit of humanity. We will contribute our part and they will do theirs too,” he said.
The visiting Israeli Minister of Public Safety said Israel sees Nigeria as critical and central to Africa economic development and therefore would do everything humanly possible to assist the country to achieve its quest in human development, security and national peace.
Explaining the deal, Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, who was present at the occasion said the security pact will help the country to achieve some level of security.
Meanwhile, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), and the State of Israel yesterday agreed to collaborate to stem the tide of terrorism financing as a way to achieve lasting impact in the fight against the scourge.
EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, expressed this desire during a courtesy visit on the Commission by the Israeli Minister of Public Security, Mr. Itshak Aharonovick, and the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria , Mr Moshe Ram, and other top Israeli government officials.
Aharonovick explained the workability of Isreali’s criminal and anti-terrorism units and the rising challenge of ridding the country of crime-pruned elements. He stressed the significant roles of whistle-blowers in the Isreali anti-corruption initiatives and disclosed that there are strong security covers for witnesses standing for the state against any culprit. More importantly, Aharonovick pointed out that “In Israel, we hurt the pockets of criminals and terrorists so as to prevent them from frustrating their trials”.
He expressed delight in the passage of the Anti-terrorism Bill by the Nigerian government, saying “I was very pleased that the anti-terrorism bill has been passed in Nigeria . In Israel , we have had it for some time now,” The minister further said that the fight against economic and financial crime was very crucial in the sustainability of any democratic process. “We know the important role the anti-corruption unit is playing today in Israel, ” he said.
While responding , Waziri expressed the readiness of the Federal Government to fight terrorism as demonstrated by the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. “Government is very serious in checking the menace of terrorism and everything is being done to achieve this”, she said. She called for increased collaboration between the EFCC and the Israeli government to ensure the success of the anti-graft and anti-terrorism war.
“In this regard, regular capacity building programmes for the EFCC operatives will be very much appreciated. It might also be useful to work towards concluding an MOU with the National Unit for Financial Crimes, NUFC of Israel ”, she said.
Source:Thisday
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