The US National Guard is to assist Nigeria tackle the spate of herdsmen attacks and kidnappings across the country.
Minister of Interior, Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (retd), gave this hint when he hosted a delegation from the USA Military led by Maj-Gen David Baldwin, yesterday in Abuja.
The minister asserted that the federal government would stop at nothing to halt the ugly trend of incessant attacks on innocent citizens, adding that the US National Guard had been engaged to train officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as agro rangers.
Dambazau acknowledged that the National Guard is very important in the USA, especially as it focuses on disaster management, adding that the federal government hoped to leverage on the experience used in managing hurricanes in the USA to manage disasters such as flooding in Nigeria.
Dambazau also hinted that that the Guard would train all paramilitary agencies under his supervision.
He said, “We want to seize this opportunity to express our gratitude to this body for offering to assist Nigeria with some logistics that will enhance our operations.”
“Part of what we want you to d, particularly to the Civil Defenders, is to create what we call Agro Rangers because of the incessant clashes we have recorded between farmers and herdsmen as well as helping us to address incessant activities of kidnappers.”
The minister explained that the intension was to provide adequate security that would help those that invested in agriculture to continue with their activities.
“We will want you to assist other agencies like the Fire Service, Immigration and Prison in terms of training and logistics also,” he said..
Leader of the delegation, David Baldwin, commended federal government’s efforts towards enhancing national security.
He hinted that they were in the country to explore other areas of partnership that will be of mutual benefit to the US and the people of Nigeria, particularly in the areas of ICT and disaster response.