Pan-African group tasks Nigeria, others on solutions to Africa’s security crisis
•Body honours AIG Jimoh
For Nigeria and other African countries to combat multidimensional security challenges, the continent must look inward for solutions and stop the dependence on external interventions, thenationonlineng.net reported.
This was the position canvassed yesterday by the Security Watch Africa Initiative Network in Lagos during the presentation of an award to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Zone 2, Olohundare Jimoh, at the Zonal headquarters in Onikan.
The award-most outstanding anti-crime police chief in West and Central Africa for 2025 was announced at the 19th African Security Watch Awards held in Banjul, The Gambia, last week.
Jimoh, who won the category following his policing approaches and strategies as Lagos Police Commissioner, could not attend the conference and awards in the West African country.
Speaking at the brief ceremony yesterday, the body’s International Coordinator, Patrick Apambu, said nearly all African nations face similar security challenges, with some managing them quietly while others seek external help without success.
Apambu said the network runs a biennial conference that produces resolutions submitted to regional bodies, including ECOWAS, SADC and the African Union, aimed at addressing the root causes of insecurity.
According to Apambu, this year’s conference focused on geopolitics, describing Africa as caught in a renewed contest for influence among global powers.
Apambu linked this to food insecurity, underdevelopment, unemployment and migration out of the continent, arguing that porous borders and open seaports, maintained in the name of free movement, leave African states unable to control what enters or leaves their territory. He contrasted this with the European Union, where member states retain sovereign control over their borders despite the Schengen arrangement.
Apambu described Jimoh as a disciplined officer whose record, including the peaceful conduct of local government elections in Lagos, justified the recognition.
Apambu said the award recognised measurable improvements in crime prevention and closer police-community ties achieved under Jimoh’s leadership in Lagos.
Receiving the award, Jimoh said the honour reflected the work of officers under his command during his tenure as Commissioner of Police in Lagos State.
Jimoh thanked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Disu, for providing the necessary leadership and policing strategies that have continued to ensure safety and security in Lagos and Ogun states.
Jimoh said his strategy as CP Lagos relied heavily on community engagement, describing Lagosians as civic-minded residents who cooperated with police to make policing more effective.
Jimoh also cited the peaceful conduct of local government elections across 20 local government areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) during his tenure, saying no ballot box was snatched and no electorate was attacked throughout the process.
Jimoh said the Nigeria Police Force’s mandate extended beyond law enforcement to the broader constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property, pledging continued commitment to crime prevention despite the demands of the job.
The AIG pledged continued commitment to crime prevention and prompt detection of offences that cannot be prevented, saying the force would not relent despite the demands of the job.
