Dr Charles Awuzie, Convener, National Private Security Conference disclosed this at a news conference on Thursdays in Abuja, noting that Nigeria stood at a defining moment in its security journey.
“Across our nation, government institutions, security agencies, communities, businesses and ordinary citizens continue to confront increasingly complex security challenges.
“These challenges demand not only courage and commitment, but also innovation, collaboration, and a willingness to rethink how we collectively safeguard our nation,” he said.
Awuzie said it was against this backdrop that the group was coming up with a national private security conference 2026.
He hinted that the conference would bring in experts from Australia, USA and other parts of the world to discuss workable strategies to tackle security challenges across the country.
He added that the conference with the theme: “Building a Modern Security Ecosystem: Integrating Private Sector Capacity into Nigeria’s National Security Architecture”, reflected an important reality.
The group’s convener noted that security could no longer be viewed as the responsibility of government alone.
“Across the world, successful security frameworks increasingly relied on partnerships between government institutions, security agencies, private sector operators, technology innovators, researchers, investors and local communities.’’
Awuzie said the question was not whether collaboration was necessary, but how we could collaborate more effectively, responsibly and more strategically in ways that strengthened national security.
This, he said, was precisely the conversation the group intends to facilitate with the conference.
According to him, the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Senators, senior military and police officers will participate at the conference.
He said that defence sector heads, international security experts, technology innovators, private security practitioners, investors, researchers and policymakers would also participate at the conference.
“The conference will focus on practical and actionable discussions around security policy, intelligence integration, public private partnerships and defence manufacturing.
“Emerging technologies, surveillance systems, artificial intelligence, security financing and the future of Nigeria’s security architecture,” Awuzie said.
He assured that the conference would not end as another gathering where important speeches were delivered and forgotten, saying its objective was to move from discussion to implementation.
“Through our panel sessions, stakeholder engagements and conference communiqué, we aim to generate practical recommendations capable of supporting policy development, industry growth, investment opportunities and stronger security outcomes for our nation.
He noted that Nigeria possesses extraordinary talent, expertise, resources and institutional capacity, adding that the challenge before us, was to create platforms that allowed these capabilities to work together more effectively.
“Together, we can help build a modern security ecosystem that protects lives, safeguards investments, strengthens national resilience and contributes meaningfully to Nigeria’s future prosperity.
He explained that the national private security conference was an independent, non-partisan platform established to promote dialogue, collaboration, policy engagement, innovation and stakeholder partnerships within Nigeria’s broader security ecosystem.
“It is not a political movement, nor a lobbying platform. It is not an attempt to replace existing security institutions, regulatory authorities, or industry associations.
“Rather, it is a strategic forum designed to bring together those who share a common objective: a safer, stronger and more secure Nigeria.’’(NAN)
