The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has called for a united national effort to tackle insecurity through deeper collaboration between security agencies and academic institutions.
Egbetokun made the call on Thursday at the third edition of the Annual Security Summit 2025, organised by the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Oto- Ijanikin, Lagos.
The summit had as its theme: “Strengthening the Partnership Between Town and Gown in the Age of Insecurity.”
The I-G emphasised that the time had come for Nigerians to view security not merely as the duty of the police but as a shared civic responsibility rooted in education, moral discipline, and community values.“
A nation’s first line of defence is not its army; it is its people—educated, disciplined, and united by the rule of law. Truth is surrendered before peace is broken.
That is why gatherings like this matter; they speak to the conscience of our country,” he said.
Egbetokun commended LASUED for what he described as an “awakening,” noting that the summit demonstrated the university’s commitment to using education as a tool for peace building and national renewal.
Explaining the essence of the Town-Gown Partnership, he described it as a “total approach” to security reform—one that unites communities (“the town”) and academic institutions (“the gown”) in pursuit of peace and development.
“When the teacher and the officer walk together, crime loses shelter. When ideas and enforcement work together, peace begins to take shape. Nigeria’s future will not be secured by guns, but by brains and moral discipline,” he added.
The police chief urged universities to focus on applied research that supports data-driven policing, community dialogue, and public trust-building to strengthen law enforcement and social cohesion.
He outlined five pillars for effective collaboration between the police and academia: data-driven policing, youth behavioural studies, cybersecurity and digital ethics, community conflict management, and public trust evaluation.
According to him, these initiatives would help predict and prevent crime, promote responsible citizenship, and rebuild confidence between citizens and law enforcement agencies.
Addressing Nigeria’s evolving security landscape, Egbetokun warned that the nation now faces faster and more complex threats, including cybercrime, misinformation, and digital manipulation.
He observed that a single keystroke can inflict more damage than a bullet, and that a viral post can ignite violence faster than a match can light a flame.
“We cannot fight 21st-century crime with 20th-century tools,” he stressed.
Egbetokun revealed that the Nigeria Police Force is undergoing a profound transformation, shifting from a reactive to a proactive, intelligence-led, and technology-driven institution.
He said ongoing reforms include expanding cybercrime units, modernising forensic laboratories, and improving training in data analytics and drone surveillance.
However, he cautioned that technology alone could not sustain peace, noting that algorithms do not inspire communities—real security is born out of relationships.
The I-G also described misinformation as a growing national security threat, calling fake news “a silent bomb capable of destroying public trust faster than any weapon.”“Misinformation is not to be fought with censorship, but with civic education, digital literacy, and transparency,” he said.Egbetokun further stressed that true security must be rooted in empathy and human dignity.“Every crime statistic hides a story—a youth who lost purpose, a family that lost direction, a community that lost compassion,” he noted.
The Vice Chancellor of LASUED, Prof. Bidemi Okuneye, said the summit aimed to shift from episodic cooperation to institutionalised collaboration, focusing on prevention, accountability, and community partnership.
She reaffirmed that the university would continue to prioritise safety, uphold integrity, and stand with victims of insecurity.
“We will not trade safety for convenience or security for spectacle,” Okuneye said, adding that education remains the most powerful security strategy.
She urged students to be proactive in promoting peace and vigilance on campuses and within their communities.“I thank you for standing with us to secure our campuses, our communities, our state, and our country,” she concluded.
Reporting by Innocent Onoh