The customs officers stationed in the three northern regions met this week in Garoua for a training seminar on the identification and recognition of materials used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Other seminars will be organized on the same topic in other regions, including in Nomayos (Yaoundé) and Douala by the end of this month. 

According to the General Directorate of Customs (DGD), this series of training seminars was instructed by the President of the Republic. In all likelihood, this instruction is intended to prevent Boko Haram members from continuing to use IEDs against Cameroonian military personnel and civilians.

Over the two days of each seminar, customs officers will be trained to identify and recognize IED components and methods to limit the manufacture of these components. They will also learn how to set up the customs system designed to limit international trafficking of these materials. The training will be delivered by experts from the Chemical Terrorism Prevention Unit of the Counter-Terrorism Directorate of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-Interpol).

Michel Ange Nga