Few months after his appointment as the Inspector-General of Police in 2012, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar paid a surprise inter- agency courtesy call on the headquarters of the Department of State Security Services, DSSS to exchange security, intelligence strategies and operational ideas  with Lawal Musa Daura, the then DG of the secret police.

Recall that the DSS was an off shoot of the Nigerian police force and was formerly kown as the Nigerian security organization, NSO.

Back to former IGP, MD Abubakar’s visit. As stated earlier, the visit and discussions were centered on inter- agency collaboration and intelligence sharing. Before his appointment as the  IGP, Abubakar was in charge of police intelligent department were he demostrated the importance of intelligence in crime fighting. He believed that the police needed to collaborate with the DSS and other security agencies to fully achieve or actualise effective policing and crime fighting. Inter- agency collaboration enables various security agencies to work together by sharing resources, expertise, and information to achieve a common goal that could be difficult to accomplish alone. This type of teamwork is essential for tackling complex security issues and can lead to more effective and efficient outcomes by preventing duplication of efforts; it helps in fostering trust and communication.

A robust inter- agency collaboration has been witnessed between the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and other sister security agencies like the Nigeria Immigration Services and Nigeria Customs Services.

It is my candid opinion that collaborative efforts among securities agencies are very imperative and urgently needed in the country, especially in the current war against criminalities like banditry,smuggling, drug trafficking and others high profile crimes. No security agency is an Island unto itself. According to one Igbo song, “he who is master of a particular dancing step may a novice in other dancing steps because they might be alien to him”. The present insecurity in the country calls for high level -inter agency synergy to stem the tide.

When heads of security agencies engage in collaborative efforts the results are always impressive and outstanding. Such results are what the country has witnessed between NDLEA and Nigerian Customs service in the sense that several arrests have been effected and many contraband goods and fake drugs impounded during joint operations.

Collaborative inter- agency efforts increases relationship among officers and is imperative for securing lives and property as well as create the atmosphere for legitimate economic activities as ideas are exchanged and skills sharpened. Inter- agency synergy unites goals and objectives of agencies in the interest of the country and helps such agencies to remove banana peels that could undermine one another’s interest

Key Elements of Inter-Agency Collaboration:

1. Shared Goals:

Agencies must align their objectives to ensure a unified approach.

2. Effective Communication:

Open channels of communication fosters trust and clarity among agencies.

3. Resource Sharing:

Sharing information, personnel, and resources can enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Such information sharing is more visible with Nigeria drug law enforcement agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Evidently, symbiotic relationship between agencies produces better results and helps to further curb insecurity

Most times such collaboration is needed to expose criminal activities. According to Dinesh Paliwal, an Indian-American business professional, collaboration is a key part of the success of any organization, executed through a clearly defined vision and mission and based  on transparency and constant communication.

Also, it is a well known fact that alone we can do so little but together we can do so much

Many security experts believe that the rate of insecurity in the country would have abated had concrete collaborative efforts been made between the military, the police and the DSS.

Unfortunately however, what we have today is the military single handedly executing internal security operation without much collaborative effort between it and other relevant security agencies.

Collaborative effort is the exhibition of humility  in practice. It is a practical situation where leaders of institutions or agencies step down from their high office to embrace, share and discuss with one a another. It is a situation were common goals are achieved in the interest of the nation. Experts believe that if agencies and institutions collaborate with the same name and objective as it is in other countries issues of insecurity in the countries would have been a thing of the past

EFCC on the match again!

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC is  many things to many people.To corrupt politicians, the agency is a tool in the hand of the government that can be used at will against either political opponents or those who step on their big toes. It is to many others, a sleeping giant that is only awaken when there is need to attack erring opponents while to others it is a chained lion that is only released when enemies approach. Since it was established in 2002 the agency has continue to surprise both admirers and critics and has gracefully been weathering every storm. The EFCC has stepped on big political toes and even trampled on lesser and insignificant toes. Often times, like a lion, it fearlessly roars at corrupt political giants, economic principalities and powers.The agency also emasculated little thieves such as internet fraudsters popular as yahoo boys.

In its 23 years of existence,  the agency have produced eight Chairmen, namely:

Nuhu Ribadu

Farida Waziri

Ibrahim Lamorde

Ibrahim Magu

Mohammed Umar Abba

Abdulrasheed Bawa

Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol

Olanipekun Olukoyede.

Each of the above played significant roles while in office. Some stamped their feet on the sands of history while some succumbed to government and political pressure in the cause of their jobs.

The agency had passed through the furnace of storms, scaled through eye of the needle without blinking an or showing signs of being ruffled.This is one agency that could make or mar any government in terms of its actions or inactions and activities. No wonder President Bola Tinubu’s government was quick to appreciate what is described as “enormous success in the agency”

(To be continued)