FG wants integration of private security guards into national intelligence network

The federal government said there is a need to integrate private security guards into the national intelligence of the country in order to solve current security challenges. It specifically said private security companies employ nearly one million Nigerians and should no longer be treated as a peripheral sector in the country’s security architecture. The Minister […]

The federal government said there is a need to integrate private security guards into the national intelligence of the country in order to solve current security challenges.

It specifically said private security companies employ nearly one million Nigerians and should no longer be treated as a peripheral sector in the country’s security architecture.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who stated this in Abuja on Wednesday at the fifth Private Security Industry Summit, said the current regulatory framework — the Private Guard Companies Act of 1986 — no longer reflects the realities of the industry.

According to him, he would ensure the Act is reviewed within the next one year, adding that private security guards should support security agencies, while describing them as potential intelligence agents.

“In the next one year, I want to assure you that, as Minister of Interior, we will do everything we can to ensure that the 1986 Act is revisited.

“As I said earlier, you employ close to — if not almost — one million Nigerians. We need your one million officers to augment the state’s officers. And we need you, almost one million people, to be prospective intelligence agents for Nigeria,” he said.

The minister directed the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to submit routine monitoring reports of private security companies to the Ministry of Interior, saying such reports should not end only at the corps headquarters.

He said this would enable the government to identify gaps and design interventions that support operators.

He added that the reform will focus on professionalism, training, and the protection of the companies’ business interests, noting that the industry must be opened up to enable it play a greater role nationally and internationally.

Earlier, the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Audi, said private security personnel play an integral role in the country’s security architecture, supporting crime prevention and intelligence gathering.

According to him, their wide presence across the country makes them valuable in providing actionable intelligence to government agencies.

Audi added that the government is taking steps to align national security goals with international best practices.