ECOWAS Police Chiefs Parley, Call For Collaboration To Address Complex Security Challenges Among Members
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has called for greater collaboration and innovative approaches among West African police chiefs to address the emerging and complex security challenges facing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Egbetokun disclosed this while speaking at the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) technical sub-committee meeting on training and operations, held in Abuja.
He highlighted the increasing complexity of national security challenges within the West African subregion, exacerbating transnational crimes.
He emphasised the urgent need for member states to bolster their national security capacities, particularly in cyberspace, to counter the activities of cybercriminals who exploit the differences in legal frameworks and legislative systems across the region.
“Our security reality continually deepens the need to commit to regional collaboration, towards dissecting the pattern and trend of crimes on the one hand, and towards pulling together and supporting each other in bridging our national security gaps,” Egbetokun stated.
He enumerated various traditional and emerging crimes, including theft, cross-border robberies, human trafficking, drug trafficking, smuggling of small arms and light weapons, banditry, and terrorism, which pose significant threats to national security and regional peace.
Egbetokun also noted the rise of cybercrime and cyber-enabled crimes as formidable challenges to the subregion’s security.
On his part, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Amb. Abdel-Fatah Musah highlighted the impact of evolving information technology on the sophistication of crimes.
He stressed the necessity for security and law enforcement agents to adapt to the dynamic nature of cyberspace, which criminals exploit to conduct illicit activities more efficiently and safely.
Musa noted that the illicit trafficking and proliferation of small arms and light weapons, human smuggling activities, armed robbery, illicit migration, child trafficking and labour, kidnapping, abduction, and maritime piracy are but a few of the main issues trending in our region.
Also speaking, the Director of the Interpol Regional Bureau in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Paule Ouedrago, reiterated the necessity of collaboration to combat the transnational nature of crimes.
She pledged the Regional Office’s support through international police cooperation and called for stronger collaboration between the Permanent Secretariat of the Committee of Police Chiefs and her office in organising and implementing police training and operations.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment among ECOWAS member states to strengthen regional partnerships in training and enhance operational integration among security forces and border management agencies to effectively address the multifaceted security challenges in the subregion.
