The growing complexity of Nigeria’s security environment including recent happenings within the Southwest geopolitical zone has brought to the fore the consistent need for stronger institutional collaboration, emotional intelligence, ethical professionalism, and continuous retraining among frontline security personnel. This formed the priority focus of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) as it convened the Third edition of its 2-Day Statewide Inter-Agency Training Programme for Security Operatives from Wednesday-Thursday 20-21 May 2026, drawing senior officers, security operatives, policymakers, and experts from across Lagos in a renewed push to strengthen the operational readiness of security and safety agencies serving in the state.
The LSSTF Inter-Agency Training Programme, now in its third edition, will equip over 1,000 security operatives drawn from all security and safety agencies serving in Lagos State between March and December 2026. Beyond the speeches, the programme reflected the evolving recognition that the future of security operations in Lagos will depend not merely on force projection, but on professionalism, empathy, institutional synergy, ethical conduct, and the ability of security personnel to earn and sustain public trust.
Held under the theme, “Enhancing Professional Capacity, Ethical Standards and Inter-Agency Collaboration for Effective Security Operations,” the training programme underscored the conviction of the LSSTF leadership led by the Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan that modern security threats such as evolving criminal patterns, kidnappings, public distrust, and urban pressures demands active, coordinated, intelligence-driven, and people-oriented security operations anchored on professionalism, collaboration, and public trust.
The third edition of the LSSTF Inter-Agency Statewide Training Programme attracted senior officers and participants from various security and emergency management agencies across Lagos. Among dignitaries in attendance were the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Fatai Tijani represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Oluwatoyin Kazeem; Commander, NNS Beecroft, Commodore Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu represented by Commander Oka Bassey Otu; Director of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Abimbola Adeseye represented by Amodu Shakiru; Corps Marshal of LAGESC/KAI, Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (Rtd.); senior officers from participating security agencies; General Manager of Globus Training and Advisory Limited, Mr. Desmond Nnebue; and members of LSSTF management team.
Representing the Executive Secretary/CEO of LSSTF, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, the Director of Administration, Mr. Adegbola Lewis, declared during the opening ceremony that the security landscape confronting the country and the Southwest region in particular had become increasingly dynamic and interconnected, thereby making collaboration among agencies not only desirable but indispensable. “The importance of this training programme cannot be overstated,” Lewis said. “Recent incidents, including the disturbing rise in kidnappings involving innocent citizens and school children in neighbouring states, alongside other emerging security threats, have heightened public anxiety and raised legitimate concerns regarding the capacity of institutions to effectively anticipate, prevent, and respond to security challenges.”
According to Mr. Lewis, contemporary security realities demand coordinated operational planning, intelligence sharing, effective communication, mutual understanding of institutional mandates, and timely joint responses among agencies. “Security is no longer the responsibility of any single agency acting in isolation,” he stated. “Modern security threats are dynamic, interconnected, and often require coordinated responses that transcend institutional boundaries.”
Adegbola Lewis further explained that beyond improving individual competencies, the LSSTF training initiative was deliberately designed to deepen inter-agency cooperation, strengthen ethical standards, enhance professionalism, and foster the collaborative mindset required to address contemporary security challenges effectively. “As public expectations continue to rise, our collective ability to work together will determine not only operational success but also the confidence citizens place in our institutions,” he added.
The LSSTF Director of Administration also noted that the programme had incorporated modules on financial literacy and medical wellness, recognising that operational effectiveness is closely tied to the physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing of personnel.
The event featured robust interventions from security chiefs, facilitators, and subject experts who emphasized that security operations in a megacity like Lagos require not just tactical competence, but also emotional maturity, ethical conduct, and people-centered engagement.
Delivering remarks as Special Guest of Honour, the Corps Marshal of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC formerly known as KAI), Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (Rtd.), commended the Executive Secretary of LSSTF, Dr. Ogunsan for sustaining strategic support for security agencies, noting that the Fund had become a critical pillar in strengthening operational capacity across Lagos, “What you have built here is more than an institution, it is a lifeline for the safety architecture of Lagos State,” he stated. “Your commitment to equipping, funding, and sustaining our security apparatus has set a standard that speaks to vision, responsibility, and leadership.”
The Corps Marshal stressed that security and public wellbeing remain inseparable, noting that environmental disorder, illegal settlements, blocked drainage systems, abandoned structures, and sanitation failures often create fertile grounds for criminal activities. “You cannot have security without public wellbeing,” he said. “The safety of the public depends on the discipline, competence, and welfare of the men and women who serve on the frontlines.”
He further called for sustained investments in professionalism, collaboration, and sustainability across security institutions. “An officer who understands the people is more effective than one who only understands force,” Cole noted, while advocating stronger synergy between LSSTF, the Police, LASTMA, KAI, LNSA, and community-based security structures.
Representing the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, ACP Oluwatoyin Kazeem charged participants to maximise the opportunity provided by the training. “I trust participants to use this opportunity to enrich their capacity, become more efficient and diligent in the discharge of their duties, and also use this avenue to enhance inter-agency collaboration,” he said.
She reiterated the commitment of the Lagos State Police Command to safer policing anchored on professionalism and integrity.
One of the keynote facilitators at the training, Professor Oka Martin Obono from the University of Ibadan delivered a thought-provoking intervention on emotional intelligence and financial management within the security services. He warned that many tragic confrontations between civilians and security personnel over the years stemmed from inadequate emotional management and insufficient capacity building. “This has to do with the reactions of security personnel to the elevated risk, stress, and anxiety that come with the kind of jobs they do,” he said.
Referencing historical incidents involving excessive use of force, he argued that security personnel often lack adequate training in emotional intelligence, empathy, self-awareness, self-regulation, conflict de-escalation, and social engagement. “You are with a gun, you are already extremely powerful,” he observed. “But they’ve not been exposed to emotional management, self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and social skills which are the five domains of emotional intelligence.”
The Professor who is Africa’s first Professor of Ethnodemography, Martin Obono also introduced participants to what he termed the “Life Project Approach” to personal finance and retirement planning. “A life project is when you examine your life not merely as something to be enjoyed, but something to be critically managed competently,” he explained.
According to him, officers must begin to think beyond monthly salaries and actively prepare for life after active service through disciplined financial management, integrity, investment planning, and long-term thinking. “What is the outcome of your income?” he asked rhetorically. “That is the vision we are going to pursue, an enjoyable lifestyle post-retirement that has nothing to do with bribery and corruption.”
Also speaking, General Manager of Globus Training and Advisory Limited, Mr. Desmond Nnebue, said the training had already begun yielding measurable results from the previous two editions held in March and April. According to him, pre-test and post-test evaluations conducted after earlier batches revealed “tremendous impact and improvement,” particularly in emotional intelligence, public diplomacy, ethical professionalism, and financial management among participants. “We want our officers and security agents to be more emotionally intelligent,” Nnebue stated. “We want inter-agency collaboration so that agencies no longer see themselves as rivals on the field.”
He stressed that ethical professionalism and public trust remain critical to effective policing and intelligence gathering. “When the public trusts security agencies, it becomes easier for citizens to volunteer information and support security operations,” he said.
Nnebue further emphasized that the LSSTF’s decision to sustain the training programme beyond a one-off intervention reflected a genuine commitment to institutional capacity development. “Lagos State Security Trust Fund is not interested in a one-off exercise,” he said. “There is a real and sustained commitment to building the capacity of the men and women who keep Lagos safe.”
On the health and wellness component of the training, Executive Director and Deputy Director of Clinical Services at Anantis Pediatric and Multispecialist Hospital, Dr. Diya Alade Oluwadamola, called attention to the often-overlooked physical and emotional wellbeing of security personnel. According to her, many officers silently grapple with stress-related health challenges that affect their professional and family lives.
“Our men are being ignored in many wellness conversations,” she noted. “Your spirit, your soul, your mind, and your body must come together in harmony to give you total health,” as she encouraged participants to prioritise routine medical checks, vaccination, healthier lifestyles, stress management, exercise, sleep, and dietary discipline.
Dr. Diya also commended Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan and the Lagos State Government for introducing a holistic dimension to security training that recognises the humanity of officers.
“I used to think security personnel were our enemies,” she admitted. “But these people are soft, caring, and human beings going through their own levels of stress.”
For Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre and West Africa’s economic hub, the message from the intensive training program is that modern security challenges demand security personnel who are equipped with continuous learning rich in emotional intelligence, discipline, consciousness about health and wellness, and a shared commitment to public service; not just equipped with constitutional authority and weaponry.
