Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo says establishing a database for private security guards will enhance national security. The minister stated this at a meeting with private guards on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that private security guards play a critical role in the development and national security architecture of various countries worldwide. Mr Tunji-Ojo added that, therefore, Nigeria, as a country, should not be exempt from global trends and happenings, bearing in mind its security situation.

The minister said, “And looking at the industry as of today, we think their potential are under tapped, the effect of the industry in terms of our national security architecture, over the years, had been inactivated due to lack of standardisation.

“Basically, in terms of policy formulation and adherence to global best practices, in terms of coming up with a database for productivity and efficiency.”

Mr Tunji-Ojo explained that the development would undoubtedly create more jobs and better security for the country, both in the formal and informal sectors and for individuals.

The minister explained further that with the right database, the issue of some private guards’ misconduct in their duty posts without being tracked down would be a thing of the past.

“It is difficult for me to leave my family with a guard that perhaps is a rapist. It is difficult to leave my home to somebody I don’t know is a burglar,” Mr Tunji-Ojo stated. “So, with a reliable database, it will take off these  fears in Nigerians.”

He explained that the meeting would enable the stakeholders to develop a database that would make guards friends with the people and make them people of integrity.

“It will also enable us to be sure that once somebody comes in as a guard, we are sure their bio-data is intact, and in case there is any issue. It will enable us to track the person and ensure justice is done,” he added.

He said this would give Nigerians the much-needed confidence that they were not just bringing strangers to their homes in the name of guards.

The minister also mentioned that reliable data would make every guard well known to Nigerians because it would allow people to do a background check before engagement.

(NAN)