From 14 to 18 November 2022, COLIBRI organised the fifth regional training on the Geoportal’s use in Abuja, Nigeria for participants from Nigeria, Ghana, and The Gambia.
34 officers from Customs, Police, Antinarcotics, Civil aviation, and Air Force administrations participated in this train-the-trainers course. Participants were able to upload data using the mobile APP based on some case studies. They reported observations, controls and seizures in the Geoportal. Several exercises and practices were carried out in order to let users become familiar with reporting events using the mobile APP. The participants were asked to redeliver the training to their colleagues within 2-months.
The training was the occasion to reiterate the need of data to have a picture of the use and activities of light aircrafts in the region. This lack of data is also one of the main causes which lead to a lack of awareness of the magnitude of the threat. Furthermore, the lack of regional perspective is a real challenge when it comes to route and trend analysis. Through its Geoportal and mobile application, COLIBRI aims to strengthen information sharing and address the lack of data.
Over the week the participants were also addressed by the Representatives of the European Union Delegation Mr. Luigi Brogi and by the Coordinator for External Affairs of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ms. Kenechi Nnoruka.
This training course was the last of the series of regional training courses on the Geoportal. COLIBRI is advancing quickly and users from previous training courses are migrating from the training platform to applying it in operationally. In total 15 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, and West and Central Africa, 66 administrations and 150 officers have participated in the five regional training courses and have full access to the Geoportal and its functionalities.
An introductory video of the opening ceremony provided by the courtesy of Nigerian Custom Services (NCS) is available here.
