The police component of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has been bolstered by the arrival of 160 officers of the Nigerian Formed Police Unit, who will provide support to the Somali Police Force in line with the Somalia Transition Plan.
The incoming contingent replaces another, known as Nigerian Formed Police Unit 10, which recently returned to Nigeria after completing a tour of duty that included helping to provide security during the recent parliamentary and presidential elections.
Per the UN Security Council Resolution, the ATMIS Police component will have 1, 040 personnel, including five Formed Police Units (FPUs), and will maintain that number until December 2024.
“These officers are well-trained and disciplined. They will fulfill the mandate that has been assigned to them, and will not fail their country or the African Union,” said Superintendent Mohammed Ibrahim, the contingent commander, when he received the officers on arrival in Mogadishu.
Among other duties, the officers are expected to support specialised training, advising and mentorship of the SPF including in joint patrols and protection of vital installations. They will also support the service delivery capacity of the Somali police in the provision of policing services across Somalia and help counter violent extremism and social disorder through community policing, public order management and other crime prevention strategies.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Fidelix Jonah Awu, who led the incoming team, noted that NFPU-11 is adequately prepared to play its role in enhancing law and order, the rule of law and efforts to restore peace and stability in Somalia.
This is Nigeria’s eleventh police unit to be deployed to Somalia since 2012. The police contributing countries (PCCs) of ATMIS are Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia who are deployed across the five operational sectors.