Collaboration between security agencies and their private counterparts will promote economic growth in Nigeria, according to Dr. Solomon Arase, Chairman of the Police Service Commission.
Arase recently made this statement at the 2023 leadership retreat hosted by the Lagos Chapter 206 of the American Society for Industrial Security at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan.
Arase, a former Inspector General of Police, stressed the critical role that public-private partnerships play in enhancing security.
“By utilising the resources and experience of the private sector to supplement government efforts, such partnerships can result in improved security outcomes. Additionally, because investor confidence is strongly influenced by security, these partnerships may promote economic growth.
The Chairman of ASIS Chapter 206, Mrs. Joko Olanitori, also spoke at the event and emphasised the value of fostering strategic and organised alliances between Nigeria’s private security sector and state-run security agencies.
This year’s conference, according to her, had the theme “Secured Handshake: A public and private sector imperative for effective security operations and practise in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.”
Olanitori stated that the cooperation is seen as essential for making the much-needed progress in addressing the country’s ongoing insecurity issues.
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The event, according to her, was designed to foster knowledge sharing and best practises among ASIS members as well as come up with creative solutions to the growing insecurity in Nigeria.
In order to address the country’s increasing insecurity, Olanitori emphasised the urgent need for structured and formalised engagement between the private security sector and Nigerian public security agencies like the Army, Nigerian Navy, Air Force, Police, Department of State Service, and others.
But Brigadier-General Idam Agachi (Retd) urged the private security sector to reflect and start working with governmental organisations to bring about the much-needed improvement.