At diploma award ceremony: Police boss urges land mines clearing trainees to be professional.

This was while presiding over the ceremony to award end of course certificates to trainees of the land mines clearing level one course, EOD1. 

Several personalities amongst them the Governor of the Centre Region, the Ambassadors of France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Canada, the European Union, EU; as well as top ranking officers of the police corps, lived the ceremony. 

The 24 trainees who were part of the first training course on land mines clearance were drawn from the elite corps of the country’s security force. 

The training which wrapped up yesterday began on Monday April 8 at the National Advanced Police School of Yaounde.  

It involved two phases; first the theoretical aspects and then the practical sessions which took place at Mbankomo. 

During the training that lasted for four weeks, the trainees were schooled on how to observe, identify, detect and safely detonate explosive devices.

The month-long training was led by two French mine clearing experts. The training aimed at equipping the trainees with land mines clearing capacities in order for them to protect the population against explosive risks.

Speaking at the ceremony to award certificates to the trainees, Police boss said the training was part of the policy of the Police prescribed by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, to reinforce the country’s security against threats.

Mbarga Nguele explained that the three-year project to reinforce the capacities of deminers represents an important step of the longstanding and fruitful corporation between Cameroon and France. 

He detailed that due to several security challenges like terrorism and cybercrimes, the General Delegation for National Security, DGSN, has resorted to strengthen and equip staff in order to eradicate existing and potential threats.

According to Mbarga Nguele, following the introduction of the demining school and the training course, the Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North and the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions, will be properly taken care of by security forces. He urged trainees to put the knowledge acquired to good use in order to save lives. 

Enter France Ambassador

Speaking earlier, the French Ambassador to Cameroon, H.E Thierry Marchand, revealed that every day in the world, there are several cases of explosions with numerous victims, most of whom are civilians.

Ambassador Marchand said this necessitated the introduction of the course in Cameroon, since the country is not exempted from such menace.

The French Ambassador said he was proud that the trainees were up to the task. He also saluted them for their commitment during the training.

Marchand revealed that at the end of the three-year project, all 10 regions of the country will be equipped with a demining unit to deal with threats. He added that the first four of these demining units shall go operational by the end of the year.

Marchand also pledged his country’s support in ensuring the execution of the project. He said 2024 marked the first step of the project and that an investment of 450 million FCFA has been made to finance the training and purchase of equipment.

The Ambassador saluted efforts of the DGSN to set up a demining school. He expressed optimism that in three years, the security challenges in the country would have been properly addressed. He also hoped that other countries of the Sub-region shall benefit from Cameroon’s expertise.

Trainees express readiness to work

The first batch of trainees of the land mines clearing course have expressed their readiness to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the demining training on the field.

According to Second Grade Police Constable Noah Dacolle Barbara, the security of the population shall be their primary concern as they are poised to save more lives.  

“During the training we learnt a lot of things. I am now properly equipped to work. The population are the first people who are exposed to the risk. My teammates and myself are ready to go to the field,” Dacolle said.

One of the highpoints of the ceremony was a practical demonstration and a visit by officials to the mines clearing school.

It is worth mentioning that after the level one course, the second step shall commence in June and shall run until August. It shall last for eight weeks.  Another eight-weeks training shall run from September to November.