PHOTOS: Presidential crisis centre holds counter-terrorism exercise in Abuja

The Presidential Crisis Communication Command and Control Centre (PC4), a body domiciled in the office of the national security adviser, has begun an inter-agency crisis response exercise on counter-terrorism in Abuja.

The counter-terrorism exercise is aimed at strengthening the capacity of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) against terrorism threats in the country.

The exercise, dubbed “Rapid Response Exercise 1”, commenced on November 25 and will end on November 29, with drills at the Idu train station and the Abuja metro station.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Obeya Obeya, PC4’s director and rear admiral, said the exercise is designed to practice relevant crisis management in the MDAs.

The admiral said the exercise would cover a range of crisis scenarios, including health emergencies, hostage-taking, marauding terrorist firearms attacks, fire and road traffic incidents, as well as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) attacks.

“According to the National Crisis Management Doctrine, a simulation exercise involving all stakeholders to crisis management is carried out once every year to test and validate the doctrine and carry out amendments where necessary,” Obeya said.

“It will interest you to know that this is the fifth in a series of crisis simulation exercises conducted by the office of the national security adviser through PC4.

“We must ensure that all tiers of government provide all the necessary things that are needed by the people to ensure that they do not stray towards the terrorists, which means that all the relevant agencies of government that are responsible for the welfare of the people must do their jobs.

“This is also part of the counter terrorism strategy. It’s not just military operations alone.”

Here are photos from the exercise;