By Abbas Bamalli
The Security Peace and Unity football Competition organised by the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Katsina State chapter, has kicked off at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina.
The SWAN Chairman, Mr Nasir Gide, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the opening of the event on Sunday that eight security agencies were participating in the competition.
According to Gide, the agencies are NDLEA, FRSC, Police, FAAN security, Nigeria Army, NAF, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the NSCDC.
He said the competition, which would last for a week, was to strengthen the existing working relationship between the security agencies in the state and journalists.
He added that the competition was aimed to advocate importance of participating in sporting activities, especially by security operatives and journalists.
“The need for participation of journalists and security operatives in sporting activities need to be emphasised,” Gide said
“This is because they are always occupied at work, therefore there is the need for regular exercise to keep them fit and improve their health conditions.”
Also, the NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Mohammed Bashir, said such competition was a welcome idea as it would strengthen the sportsmanship and interrelationship between the sister agencies.
According to him, after all efforts in tackling the security situation in the state, the event was another avenue for them to meet and interact under a relaxed atmosphere.
NAN reports that the first match of the competition was played between the FRSC and the Police team which ended 3-0 against the FRSC team.
The second game of the competition was played between the NDLEA team and the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security team.
The match ended 3-1 in favour of the NDLEA after a tough encounter that kept spectators at the edge of their seats. (NAN)
