A new Training Module on “investigative interviewing, the right to remain silent and the prohibition of torture” has been unveiled in Abuja on Friday, 18th March, 2022.
The new training module is believed to further strengthen Nigeria’s partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in support for the nation’s Criminal Justice, Responses to Terrorism and Violent Extremism. The Project is funded by the European Union (EU)under the EU-Nigeria-UNODC-CTED partnership project III.
The Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Rear Admiral Y.E.M Musa (Rtd) was among very important personalities at the event. Others include Professor M.T. Ladan, Director General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS); Mr. Jèrôme Riviére, EU Peace and Security Programme Manager, Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Nigeria and ECOWAS; Mr. Oliver Stolpe, representative, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Office in Nigeria, among others.
Presenting his opening remarks, the Coordinator hailed the launching of the new training module by UNODC, saying it was a significant milestone in the operations of the organisation in its collaborative efforts to support the Nigerian Government in countering violent extremism as well as promoting criminal justice and the rule of law.
According to Rear Admiral Musa (Rtd), “this training module, I am very confident, will provide veritable tools for training Nigerian Judges, public prosecutors, investigators and other law enforcement officials, legal advisers of law enforcement agencies and defence lawyers to better position our criminal justice and rule of law.
He emphasised that this was coming up at a very auspicious time in Nigeria when the narrative was taking a new dimension with the latest development where non-state armed combatants are laying down their arms in their numbers.
“As Nigeria continues to take important steps towards countering violent extremism particularly in the North East, the unwavering support, partnership and the collaborative efforts of UNODC over the years underscore our unique drive to combat the global menace bedeviling our global space,” he stressed.
The Coordinator, on behalf of the Government of Nigeria, assured the UNODC, European Union (EU) and United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and all the nation’s strategic partners that Nigeria would always be committed to this partnership which was geared towards strengthening Nigeria’s criminal justice measures against terrorist threat of various armed groups in compliance with the rule of law and fully respecting human rights.