In furtherance of his administration’s community policing and safety partnership initiative, the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Imohimi Edgal has called for greater collaboration between the Lagos State Police Command and private security practitioners in the state.
CP Edgal and Dr Efoziem
He made the call at the weekend when he played host to the management team of a Lagos based private security company; Strict Guards Security Limited led by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer; Dr. Bone Chinye Efoziem who were at the Command headquarters to present 250 pieces of rain coat and 250 pairs of rain boot as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility to the police.
While commending Strict Guards for taking the initiative as the first private security company to present operational gift items to the Lagos State Police Command since he assumed office as Commissioner, Edgal emphasized that private security companies were very relevant in terms of intelligence gathering due to the large number of guards employed to work in various parts of the country.
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He noted that the private security companies have not been properly integrated into the security architecture of Lagos possibly due to the fact that the companies were statutorily under the supervision of the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC). The police boss has however; promised that henceforth, the Lagos State Police Command would partner more with the private security practitioners in security-related activities.
Earlier in his speech, the Strict Guards boss; Dr. Efoziem said his company was at the police headquarters “ostensibly in line with the demands of corporate social responsibility which makes it imperative for stakeholders to fully identify with the environment of their economic and social activities.”
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force “which has the statutory responsibility to protect lives and property of the citizenry is one major agency of government which roles cut across every sector of the economy. It is therefore important that at all times, we must not leave everything relating to the welfare of officers and men of the Force to government.”
The Strict Guards chieftain disclosed that “in the light of this belief”, his company was prompted to donate the rain coats and rain boots principally to assist police traffic officers who have the responsibility of managing the ever chaotic traffic situation in Lagos particularly during rainy season.
In his words, “this is our company’s way of encouraging policemen under the able leadership of Commissioner Edgal who has effectively checkmated criminality in Lagos State since he assumed office in 2017.”
Strict Guards Security Limited is one of the private security companies licensed by the NSCDC to carry out security related activities.
It was founded 23 years ago and according to Efoziem, the company has emerged as a child of necessity with regards to recruitment, training and presentation of physically and mentally fit young men and women as a bridge between security services provided by the police and civil society personnel who are not allowed to bear fire arms.
The company’s guards have, over the years been engaged in manning some branches of commercial banks and other blue chip companies in various cities of Nigeria and have a track record of credibility in their operations and integrity of management staff.
The Managing Director pledged to remain committed to this ideal in the years to come.
