Lagos Chapter 206 of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) has underscored importance of fostering strategic and structured partnership between the private security industry and government-controlled security agencies.

The collaboration is viewed as crucial for tackling the perennial insecurity in Nigeria. Members of the association made the submission at their 2023 Leadership Retreat, which held at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Oyo State, to develop innovative solutions to the nation’s pervasive insecurity and promote knowledge sharing and best practices among themselves.

With the theme, ‘Secured Handshake: A Public and Private Sector Imperative for Effective Security Operations and Practice in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) World’, the chairman, Mrs. Joko Olanitori, stressed the subject matter’s significance in today’s global space alongside Nigeria’s unique security challenges.

She stressed the urgent need for structured and formalised engagement between Nigerian public security agencies such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and Department of State Services (DSS) with the private security industry to effectively address the growing insecurity in the country.

Olanitori pledged her association’s willingness to collaborate with stakeholders to promote meaningful synergy between private security operators and public security institutions in Nigeria.

She noted: “There are millions of private security operatives across Nigeria. Imagine harnessing their potential by equipping them to gather and share security intelligence with their statutory counterparts. Through collaboration, we can leverage the vast amount of information from such sources to tackle security challenges in the country.”

In his keynote address, Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC), Dr. Solomon Arase, underlined the pivotal role of public-private partnerships in enhancing security.

The one-time Inspector General of Police (IGP) observed that such partnerships could lead to improved security outcomes, by leveraging private sector’s resources and expertise to complement government’s efforts.

These collaborations, Arase added, could foster economic growth, as security plays a critical role in investor confidence. In his contribution, Brig.-Gen. Idam Ogbonna Agachi (rtd) advised the private security industry to embrace introspection and initiate collaboration with government institutions to bring about the much-needed positive change.

“To transform the current situation, society must first engage in introspection and subsequently collaborate with the public sector,” he said.

Assistant Regional Vice President of ASIS International Region 11A, Peter Okoloh, reiterated the significance of a secured handshake between the private and public sectors. He stressed that a significant number of private security operatives in Nigeria are embedded within local communities, enabling them proximity to valuable intelligence.

Okoloh noted that seamless collaboration between the private sector and statutory security bodies is vital for effective security solutions.

Also contributing, Director of Security Risk Advisory & Consulting at Halogen Group, Dr. Wale Adeagbo, while acknowledging the inevitability of the handshake, canvassed a holistic approach requiring redefinition of and broader scoping of all stakeholders in security.

He said compartmentalising the stakeholders in the security sector is insufficient.

“Everyone needs to be involved. It goes beyond a handshake. It is inevitable due to the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous nature of our current existential environment,” he submitted.

The yearly retreat, hosted by the international industrial security body, consisted of edutainment sessions, business networking and extensive knowledge sharing among members.