Nigeria Pushes for Real-Time Intelligence Sharing at INTERPOL West Africa Meeting
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, on Monday presided over the 11th Meeting of Heads of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) for West Africa, calling for deeper regional coordination to combat transnational organised crime.
The meeting, held at Johnwood Hotel in Abuja, brought together heads of NCBs from 16 West African countries, alongside senior officials from the INTERPOL General Secretariat and other regional security institutions.
Regional threat landscape
In his address, Disu delivered a detailed assessment of the evolving security environment in West Africa, warning that criminal networks across the sub-region are increasingly interconnected and borderless.
He identified human trafficking syndicates, arms dealers, narcotics networks, cyber fraud groups, money launderers, terrorist financiers, and violent extremist organisations as part of a converging ecosystem of transnational crime operating beyond national jurisdictions.
The IGP stressed that no single country can effectively confront these threats alone, noting that operational success depends on the speed, depth, and reliability of intelligence-sharing among all participating states.
Nigeria’s ongoing reforms
Disu outlined Nigeria’s ongoing contributions to regional policing architecture, including the expansion of INTERPOL’s I-24/7 secure global police communications system to border posts and law enforcement units across the country. The system, he said, is intended to ensure frontline officers have real-time access to critical international intelligence.
He also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to Project GEMINI, which focuses on systematic uploading and verification of INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, as well as continued engagement with the West African Police Information System (WAPIS) to strengthen regional data integration.
Strategic priorities
Looking ahead, the IGP outlined three priority areas for Nigeria within the regional framework: universal access to INTERPOL databases across border security architecture, rapid joint operational coordination capable of responding within hours, and sustained investment in trust-building mechanisms among NCBs to enhance intelligence-sharing.
He emphasised that technology and platforms alone are insufficient without institutional trust, warning that weak cooperation undermines even the most advanced security systems.
INTERPOL response
The head of the INTERPOL delegation commended Nigeria for hosting the meeting and highlighted the significance of full participation by all 16 NCB heads, describing it as a strong indicator of regional commitment to collective security.
He urged participants to translate discussions into measurable operational outcomes and to shift policing approaches from reactive responses to proactive disruption of criminal networks.
Regional security cooperation
The meeting reaffirmed Nigeria’s central role in West African security collaboration and underscored growing institutional alignment among regional police forces in addressing complex transnational threats.
It also reflected a broader push within West African law enforcement structures toward integrated intelligence systems and coordinated operational responses.
By TimesNG