The Zone 6 of the Nigeria Police, on Monday in Calabar, began a five-day training of 200 senior officers drawn from the states under the zone on counter terrorism.

The middle level officers were chosen from Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Rivers which form the zone.

Declaring the training open, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of the zone, Abubakar Marafa, said the training was aimed at impacting knowledge of counter-terrorism on the officers.

Abubakar, who was represented by the Cross River Commissioner of Police, Hafiz Inuwa, said the training would also sharpen the mental and physical alertness of the officers.

“Terrorism is a criminal offence. Terrorism can take place anywhere and at any given time. This is an opportunity the police is given to be prepared in case of any terrorist attack.

“Officers for this training are from the ranks of Deputy Superintendent of Police to Chief Superintendent of police because these are the middle level officers in charge of operational posts.

“This training is going to last for five days and it will be a continuous process because the police believe in training of its men on contemporary issues,’’ he said.

Etop James, Commissioner of Police, Counter-Terrorism, Abuja, said that the force embarked on the exercise so that the officers would be proactive in their respective divisions.

“Once you have knowledge, you have confidence. The training is meant to sharpen the knowledge of our men on how to respond to issues of terrorism, especially during explosion of bombs.

“We hope that the category of officers that will benefit from the training will go back to their divisions and be able to coordinate effectively,’’ he said.

He urged the officers to pay adequate attention to the training, adding that they would be expected to bring out the best in them at the end of the training.