The Abia State Police Command has begun a 10-day training programme to sharpen officers’ skills in tackling cybercrime, while the Akwa Ibom State Liaison Office in Lagos is seeking closer cooperation with the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex to improve security and public safety.
 
The twin developments highlight growing efforts by security and government institutions to strengthen their response to emerging crimes and improve collaboration.
 
In Abia, the cybercrime training was organised in partnership with the Cyber Shield Africa Initiative and formally opened on Monday by the Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Olutokunbo Afolabi.
 
The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Maureen Chinaka, said the programme was designed to improve officers’ ability to investigate cybercrime and other technology-driven offences.
 
Participants include personnel from the Cybercrime Section, State Criminal Investigation Department, State Intelligence Bureau and Violent Crime Response Unit Intelligence, as well as officers from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
 
Chinaka said the training followed a review of the Command’s operations, which identified the need to strengthen its capacity to deal with cyber-related offences.
 
Afolabi noted that financial and cybercrimes were increasingly prevalent, particularly in commercial centres such as Aba, where he said digital security was becoming as important as physical security.
 
He said the Command was determined to make Abia hostile to identity theft, impersonation, financial fraud and other cyber-related crimes.
 
The commissioner stressed that effective investigations required modern skills and techniques, adding that regular training was necessary to keep officers abreast of changing criminal methods.
 
He urged the participants to remain focused and disciplined, saying poor preparation could expose both officers and members of the public to unnecessary risks.
 
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom State Liaison Officer in Lagos, Mr Anthony Isonguyo, has pledged to strengthen cooperation between the state’s liaison office and the FCID Annex.
 
Isonguyo made the pledge during a courtesy visit to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the annex, AIG Simeon Akpanudom, on Tuesday.

The liaison officer, who recently assumed office in Lagos, said the liaison office served as a link between the Akwa Ibom State Government and indigenes of the state living in Lagos.
 
He commended Akpanudom’s leadership of the FCID Annex and described his appointment as significant, noting that he was the first Akwa Ibom indigene to head the formation since its establishment.
 
Isonguyo said he was ready to promote closer engagement between the two institutions.
 
Akpanudom welcomed the visit and described it as a demonstration of goodwill and institutional cooperation.

He also acknowledged the support extended to him by the Akwa Ibom State Government.

The AIG commended the developments in Akwa Ibom under Governor Umo Eno and stressed the importance of sustained cooperation among government institutions and other stakeholders.
 
He later presented a commemorative plaque to Isonguyo as a symbol of goodwill and continued partnership.

The two sides agreed to sustain their relationship and explore further areas of cooperation in the interest of security, peace and public safety.