By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has called for a unified West African approach to tackling rising transnational organised crime across the sub-region.
He made the call on Monday, while presiding over the 11th Meeting of Heads of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) for West Africa in Abuja.
The meeting brought together heads of NCBs from sixteen West African countries, alongside senior representatives of the INTERPOL General Secretariat and regional security bodies.
IGP Disu warned that criminal networks operating across the region, including human trafficking syndicates, arms traffickers, drug cartels, cyber fraudsters, money launderers, terrorist financiers, and violent extremist groups, are increasingly exploiting porous borders and weak coordination among security agencies.
According to a statement on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anthony Placid, Disu stresses that no single country can effectively confront the threat alone, calling instead for stronger intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and trust among member states.
The police chief also highlighted Nigeria’s ongoing investments in strengthening regional security collaboration, including the expansion of INTERPOL’s I-24/7 secure communication network to border control points and law enforcement agencies across the country.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to Project GEMINI, which focuses on improving the upload and verification of INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, as well as the West African Police Information System (WAPIS), designed to enhance regional intelligence integration.
Looking ahead, IGP Disu outlined three key priorities: universal access to INTERPOL databases across West African border systems, faster coordinated responses to security threats within hours rather than weeks, and deeper trust and transparency among National Central Bureaus.
The INTERPOL delegation commended Nigeria for hosting the meeting and urged member states to translate discussions into measurable operational commitments that strengthen proactive policing.
The meeting reaffirmed Nigeria’s leadership role in West African security cooperation and underscored the importance of collective action in addressing transnational crime
