Nigeria’s inspector general of police, Olatunji Disu, has argued that the country’s mounting security challenges cannot be overcome through force alone, insisting that public trust, transparency and shared responsibility must become central to the nation’s security strategy.
Speaking at the closing session of the Lagos PR Fest 2026 at the MUSON Centre in Lagos, Disu said modern policing required a fundamental shift from coercive approaches to one built on collaboration between security agencies, government institutions, the media and citizens.
His keynote address, delivered on his behalf by Assistant Inspector-General of Police Simeon Akpanudom of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, formed part of the conference themed Security, Nation Building and Public Trust: Fostering Collective Responsibility through Strategic Public Relations.
According to a statement issued by the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Disu described strategic public relations as indispensable to both effective governance and sustainable national security.
He said the era of one-way communication from public institutions had passed, arguing that transparent, two-way engagement was essential to building public confidence and encouraging citizens to become active partners in safeguarding national security.
“The challenges confronting us today demand more than traditional security responses,” he said, adding that trust between institutions and the public was increasingly critical to intelligence gathering and crime prevention.
The police chief outlined a series of priorities for strengthening public confidence, including rebuilding institutional credibility through evidence-based communication, improving transparency and accountability across government, expanding grassroots engagement to improve intelligence gathering, encouraging greater youth participation in security conversations and promoting national messaging that rises above ethnic and religious divisions.
He also called for closer cooperation among government agencies, security institutions and the media, particularly during periods of national crisis, and commended the Lagos chapter of the NIPR for convening what he described as a timely national conversation on the relationship between security and public trust.
Opening the conference, the chairman of the NIPR Lagos chapter, Dr Samuel Ayetutu, said the institute had deliberately chosen this year’s theme to reposition communication as a core component of Nigeria’s security architecture.
He argued that national security debates had traditionally centred on military capabilities, personnel and operational capacity while neglecting the importance of communication, public perception and institutional credibility.
“Security is often discussed in terms of arms, personnel and operations. Rarely is it discussed in terms of communication, perception and trust. Yet trust is the foundation upon which every security effort ultimately stands or falls,” Ayetutu said.
He maintained that public relations should no longer be viewed as merely supporting security operations but as an operational necessity capable of fostering cooperation between citizens and state institutions.
According to him, intelligence gathering depends on communities having sufficient confidence in security agencies to share information, while compliance with public safety directives rests largely on clear, credible and transparent communication.
“Public relations is not a luxury in the fight against insecurity. It is a necessity. Where communication fails, even the best-resourced security efforts struggle to gain ground. Where communication is strategic and honest, trust follows; and cooperation follows trust,” he said.
Panel discussions at the conference echoed those themes, with participants urging public institutions to rebuild confidence through greater openness, consistency and accountability.
The discussants also stressed that strategic communication plays a vital role in countering misinformation, encouraging civic participation and promoting responsible media reporting. They called for stronger partnerships between security agencies, communication professionals, civil society organisations, academia and the private sector to strengthen community-based intelligence, promote national cohesion and support lasting peace.
