The US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, on Wednesday in Abuja assured the Police that his country would continue to support it in the war against insurgency in Nigeria.
Entwistle gave the assurance after he presented some hi-tech modern bomb disposal equipment donated to the Force by the US Government to the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba.
The equipment included bomb detector robots and protective suits for the personnel of the anti-bomb disposal squad.
Entwistle, who described the relations between the US and the Nigeria Police as historic, assured Abba that the relationship, both in terms of personnel training and donation of equipment, would continue.
He said: “The US will continue to stand with the Nigeria Police Force.
“This is especially the case today for two reasons – the ongoing counter-terrorism struggle and the importance of election security as we head towards a great democratic exercise in next February.
“That is a tremendous challenge and I am confident that the challenge will be met.
“We stand ready to help.”
Responding, Abba thanked the US Government for the donation and continuous support to the force in its war against violent crimes and in the preparation for the 2015 general elections.
The I-G called for continued support from foreign partners, including the US, noting that the police alone could not fight crime.
He also appealed to the citizenry for support.
He said: “If you do not give us the necessary information, if you do not report incidents to us on time, we may not be able to arrest the situation.
“Let us have the information.
“We will prevent it from happening.
“Where it happens, tell us immediately and our response time will be better.”