Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has called for a coordinated regional approach to tackling insecurity in Nigeria’s North-West, stressing the need for stronger intelligence sharing, closer cooperation among states .
Disu made the call while delivering the opening address at the North-West Security Summit in Gusau, Zamfara State.
The three-day summit, hosted by the Zamfara State Government, brought together governors, traditional rulers, security chiefs, experts, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to examine the security challenges affecting the region.
Participants are deliberating on issues including banditry, kidnapping, arms proliferation, communal conflicts, farmer-herder tensions and other emerging security threats.
The IGP said the scale and complexity of the challenges required a collective response, noting that no single security agency, government or institution could resolve the situation alone.
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He urged stakeholders to strengthen intelligence-sharing mechanisms, coordinate security operations across state boundaries and improve border surveillance to prevent criminal groups from exploiting jurisdictional gaps.
Disu also highlighted the role of local communities and traditional institutions in combating insecurity, saying their involvement was essential to obtaining reliable intelligence, preventing crime and strengthening early-warning systems.
He cautioned against ethnic or religious profiling in the fight against insecurity, stressing that criminality had no ethnicity and terrorism had no religion.
According to him, security agencies must focus on identifying and prosecuting criminal networks, their sponsors, arms suppliers, informants and other facilitators, irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliations.
The IGP reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to intelligence-led policing, technology-driven operations, rapid response and stronger collaboration with other security agencies and local communities.
He urged participants to ensure that the summit produced practical and measurable resolutions capable of improving security, protecting vulnerable communities and restoring public confidence across the North-West.
Disu said the success of the meeting would ultimately depend on translating its recommendations into coordinated action and sustained implementation across the region.
