The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has called for a unified West African front to combat Transnational crimes in the region.
The IGP made the call when he presided over the 11th Meeting of Heads of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) for West Africa in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
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In his address, IGP Disu stressed the threat environment confronting the West African sub-region.
“Human trafficking syndicates, arms dealers, drug networks, cyber fraudsters, money launderers, terrorist financiers, and violent extremist groups all share one defining characteristic: they operate without regard for national borders”. He stated.
According to him, the region’s success depends not on any single country’s efforts, but on the speed and quality of partnerships forged across all sixteen member states.
IGP Disu said Nigeria is working on extending INTERPOL’s I-24/7 secure communications network to border control points and law enforcement institutions nationwide, to enable officers at land crossing have the same real-time access to critical intelligence as those at headquarters.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to Project GEMINI, the systematic uploading and verification of INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, while pointing out the West African Police Information System (WAPIS) as evidence of what regional data integration, pursued with purpose, can achieve.
The IGP noted that Nigeria is committed to three priorities: ensuring universal access to INTERPOL’s key databases across West African border architecture; building coordination mechanisms that enable joint action within hours, and investing in the trust and transparency among NCBs that makes meaningful information-sharing possible.
The gathering brought together NCB heads from sixteen West African nations alongside senior representatives of the INTERPOL General Secretariat and regional security bodies.
