Manchester United to employ full-time counter terrorism manager

Manchester United believe they are the first sports club in the country to have a full-time counter terrorism manager.

 

The appointment was revealed at a recent fans’ forum, and Press Association Sport understands the role will be filled by a former inspector from Greater Manchester Police’s specialist search unit.

 

The development comes at a time when Old Trafford’s security is under increased scrutiny.

 

United saw the final match of the 2015-16 season against Bournemouth called off after what proved to be a fake bomb, left behind following a training exercise, was found in a toilet.

 

There was another incident in November when two individuals managed to break off from a stadium tour and stay overnight at Old Trafford ahead of the match with Arsenal.

 

On the whole, security has been beefed up around the club since the Paris attacks in November 2015 when the Stade de France was targeted on a night when 130 were killed.

 

Vehicles are now routinely checked as they enter the premises, while individuals heading into the stadium are searched.

 

More security supervisors have been deployed after fans complained at the time it took for searches at turnstiles.

NAF records another successful Counter-Terrorism Simulation at Lagos Airport. [Pictures]

The Nigeria AirForce carried out another successful Counter-Terrorism Simulation at Lagos Airport.

 

The exercise which is one of many military exercises carried out to ensure that officers are updated and refreshed on new combat skills. Terrorism has become a widespread criminal activity all over the world. As such, periodic exercises like this should be a norm so as to create preparedness of military personnel incase of an eventuality.

 

This recent exercise was certified successful by the NAF authorities. Members of the public were allowed to watch the simulation which took place at the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos.

 

These among others are part of the efforts to checkmate terrorists’ activities in vulnerable public spaces. Here are some of the pictures of the exercise:

 

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FBI To Assist Nigerian Military To Counter Terrorism

The counter-terrorism war of the Federal Government got a boost yesterday with a promise from the United States (U.S.) Government to send officials from its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other security experts to the country.

They (FBI) operatives are to offer technical assistance to the Federal Government to deal with terrorism.

Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, Alan Tousignant, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja when he led a security delegation to Interior Minister Abdulrahman Dambazzau.

The envoy said the delegation, including a team of the U.S Security Governance Initiative (SGI), was in the country as a follow-up to an earlier visit in January.

The SGI is an initiative of the U.S. Government that offers enhanced security technical assistance to six African countries, including Nigeria.

Mr. Tousignant said the delegation’s visit was at the request of the Federal Government to provide a holistic security technical assistance and not to donate any equipment.

He explained that the government identified three major areas of partnership to include enhancing the Ministry of Interior’s emergency response coordination, Ministry of Defence’s procurement procedure and the civilian security planning for the Northeast.

He said the week-long interaction between the SGI team and the Nigerian security agencies would fashion out a robust roadmap to ensure better efficiency, transparency and justice in Nigeria’s security architecture.

The SGI Team leader, Stephen Nolan, said both countries were working to finalise and implement a Joint Country Action Plan (JCAP) which was a document that outlined a roadmap for a successful partnership.

He said that the JCAP emphasised partnership and finding Nigerian solution to its security challenges not about what the U.S. was doing for Nigeria.

Mr. Nolan, however, assured that the forthcoming elections in the U.S. and the change of government in January 2017 would not affect the project as they had been working hard to ensure its sustenance.

He said: “I want to assure you that we have been working for the continuity and sustainability of this project, even after the Obama administration in January, 2017.”

Gen Dambazau thanked the delegation for the visit and expressed optimism that the partnership would help to re-position the security architecture of the country.

He said the partnership would involve all security agencies and not just those of the Ministry of Interior so as to fashion out a holistic security roadmap to deal with terrorism and other crimes.

The minister said that the meeting was in tandem with President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda to address security, corruption and the economy of the country in line with international best practice.

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Couter-terrorism: FBI to assist military

US Trains Nigerian Military Officers On Counter-terrorism

A team of military personnel from the United States of America has arrived Nigeria to train a battalion of Nigerian Army officers and soldiers on counter-terrorism and insurgency operations.

Speaking at the commencement of the training at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State on Wednesday, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Enwistle, stressed the need for countries within the Lake Chad Basin to continue to work together in the fight against terrorism and insurgency within the region.

He stated that with the ongoing partnership between United States and Nigerian military in the areas of training of officers and soldiers, the war against the Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast was already yielding tremendous result as the insurgents had been largely defeated.

The US Ambassador also tasked the Nigerian government on improving the socio-economic development of the northeast that had been ravaged by Boko Haram attacks in order to secure a long term stability of the region.

On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Owonishakin, said that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to ensure that the Nigerian Armed Forces were adequately equipped to enable personnel fight terrorism and other security challenges confronting the nation.

He explained that the partnership between the US military and Nigeria’s Armed Forces was borne out of the commitment of the present administration in waging war against global terrorism and violent extremism.

General Owonishakin, however, urged the participants to use the training opportunity to improve their military skills and capacity.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, reminded the participants of the enormous security challenges facing Nigeria and the need for them to adapt with the new tactics to deal with the situation.

He also reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army towards strict observance of human rights and international humanitarian laws in the ongoing military effort to liberate the northeast from the Boko Haram terrorists.

The training which would last for 12 weeks, is designed to be conducted in three phases for troops of the 145 Battalion.

Credit: ChannelsTv

Pro- Gay Mosque Shut in S. A.

South Africa’s first gay-friendly mosque, which also allows women to lead prayers, has been closed indefinitely, a local official has told reporters.

A City of Cape Town Councillor says the newly-established Open Mosque had violated municipal by-laws by not having any parking spaces.

The mosque officially opened its doors on Friday despite criticism from members of the local Muslim community.

Founder Taj Hargey said the mosque would help counter radicalism.

“We are opening the mosque for open-minded people, not closed-minded people,” he said ahead of the launch.