Armo Police Academy to reopen soon

Armo Police Academy in Puntland will be refurbished and made operational once again for police training, Federal Finance deputy minister Mohamoud Hayir Ibrahim has said.

The deputy minister who toured the facility yesterday said the facility had been abandoned for a couple of years yet it had been instrumental in police training in the country.

He however noted that the government will act on a previous agreement signed with Puntland to refurbish the academy and reinstate it to its former stature.

“ This academy was one of the best in this country. All those who graduated from here were employed by government and are now serving in various parts of the country. Following earlier agreements between the state of Puntland and the Federal government, reconstruction and refurbishment will start off soon to ensure the facility is put into use again,” said.

 The prestigious Armo Police Training Academy was reopened on December 20, 2005 by then Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi after lying unused for a decade. It was funded by UNDP.

The three months training offered by the academy covers community policing, basic police training, non-violent disarmament, physical fitness, self-defense, marching and theory.

But the academy has been abandoned and lay idle for the past few years and federal government and Puntland have been trying to rehabilitate it.

Accompanied by the Armo Mayor Mohamed Ali Shire, the deputy minister also toured other public places including the main hospital where he was briefed by the director Dr. Yusuf Farole.