The Gendarmerie Nationale is the national paramilitary police force of Niger. One of two paramilitary police units of the nation, the Gendarmerie Nationale is modeled on the Gendarmerie of former colonial power, France. Its purpose is to provide police protection outside of urban areas, patrolled by the National Police. The Gendarmerie Nationale is a centrally controlled 3,700 member paramilitary police force that provides policing outside those jurisdictions policed by the Police Nationale, usually smaller towns and rural areas. It is uniformed, ranked and trained in military fashion.
History
Following the creation of the Republic of Niger and in anticipation of its independence, the National Gendarmerie began transferring leadership to Nigerien officers. In August 1962, Lieutenant Badie Garba replaced Captain Maurice Dapremont then Superior Commander of the National Gendarmerie thus becoming the first Nigerien head of the Gendarmerie corp. When the Police Nationale was moved to the Nigerien Interior Ministry in 2003, the FNIS fell under their jurisdiction, while the Gendarmerie remained under the Nigerien Ministry of Defense.
Structure and Organization
The Gendarmerie Nationale is headquartered in Niamey and has four regional Groupements based in Niamey, Agadez, Maradi, and Zinder. A highway police unit known as the Brigade Routière is also a part of the Gendarmerie Nationale, and they are charged with providing security to the nation's highways however the unit mainly operates checkpoints.
Specialised units
The GN includes police patrol and institutional security units, as well as specialised units, including a Niamey Motorcycle Unit for traffic and VIP escort duty, a Telecommunications section, and a nautical unit.
Fluvial Brigade
The portion of Niger river in Niger links the northern Mali and Northern Nigeria. In the wake of the unrest in both of these areas with Boko Haram in Nigeria and the conflict in the north of Mali, Niger has moved to ensure adequate patrolling of the Niger river in Niger. The goal of this brigade is to ensure safety of people and resources on the river and to prevent trafficking in any nature that might contribute to the regional conflicts. In 2008, the Fluvial Brigade of the National Gendarmerie was created and equipped with three patrol boats acquired from France. The role of this brigade is to conduct riverine patrols in Niamey, Tillaberi, and Gaya. This brigade works closely with custom services to address fluvial and riverine trafficking on the Niger river. Training and exchanges are carried out with regional partners such as Mali and Senegal as well as France. The latter has also provided logistical support in the form of patrol boats.
School and Training
Training of "Gendarme" is conducted at the National Gendarmarie School at Koira Tagui in Niamey as of 2008. Training was previously conducted at the Camp Tondibiah, the military Army Base in Niamey and primary training center for the Army corps. The first graduating class out of the school included a 1000 "gendarmes", of whom 70 were women.
