Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar has authorized the deployment of 147 policemen to Mali. The officers will leave for Mali next month.

Police spokesman Frank Mba said yesterday in a statement that the IG has approved the deployment "of seven Individual Police Officers (IPOs) and one Formed Police Unit (FPU) comprising one hundred and forty (140) personnel to Mali in support to the African-led International Assistance Mission to Mali (AFISMA) operations aimed at restoring peace and security to the strife-torn country.

He said the FPU "will be made up of highly trained and seasoned police personnel skilled in counter-terrorism and crime detection techniques will also have its own trained engineers and medical support team. It is expected that the peacekeepers will support the capacity development of the Malian Law enforcement agencies.

Also, the ECOWAS Commission has on the recommendation of the Inspector-General of Police appointed Deputy Commissioner Subair Olusola Kamar as the Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of AFISMA.

Until his appointment, Kamar was the DC Administration in the Department of Training at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

There are about 800 Nigerian police currently serving in peacekeeping mission in Liberia, Haiti, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, East Timor, Cote D'voire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea Bissau.