NESREA, police collaborate to fight environmental crime

The Director General of NESREA, Mrs. Ngeri Benebo, speaking at a one-day meeting with the NPF on the implementation of NESREA’s Environment Training Module in Abuja, recently, said the collaboration was important because environmental issues are now recognised as worrisome security matters globally.
She said the police will be introduced to issues of environmental compliance, monitoring and enforcement to fight the menace of environmental crime.
The training, according to Benebo, will also expose the trainees to the existence and activities of relevant international environmental organisations and institutions as well as local laws and global agreements on environmental protection.
She said: “Nobody will want to run afoul of the law where the police are concerned, after we train these corps of trainers and maybe introduce it in all the police colleges, then it will be there for the record. So if a police man is going through an area and see people burning bush, he will know that is wrong and it is against the laws of the land and they will take the necessary action.”
In his remarks, the representative of the Deputy Inspector-General, Police Training, NPF, Mr. Worebi Owotorufa, said the environment is a very important part of our existence.
He said at the end of the training, the police men will be aware of laws that guide the environment and be well footed to tackle issues that arise from abuse of the environment.