The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Friday collaborated with the Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative (ECAPI) to launch a three-day training programme on the need for constant retraining of its personnel on intelligence gathering to aid capacity building in combating crime to enhance growth, development and promote national security.

The training, held in Lagos and spearheaded by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, was tagged, “Police-ECAPI Community Intelligence Gathering Training”.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Force Intelligence Department, Benjamin Okolo, said, the training became imperative to enhance the ability of police personnel and community members to gather and utilise intelligence effectively in preventing and combating crime.

Okolo who was represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, State Intelligence Department, Lagos State Command, Mr. Idowu Jayeola, added that: “The training on intelligence gathering was key to nip crime in the bud.”

Speaking further, he said crime has always been part of the realities of all human existence, stressing that, “no community is exempted from crime.”

While delivering his lecture on the topic, ‘The role of community members in crime management; the need for a paradigm shift’, Okolo said: “Crime has always been part of the realities of all human communities. No community is exempted from crime.

“As the community transforms or grows, crime patterns also change to reflect the change. The more rampant crime is in a community, the more the quality of life of members of the community will diminish over time.”

He explained that: “Nigeria is currently grappling with myriads of security challenges which requires a whole-society approach to successfully handle. Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) remains low at 0.548 despite a 22% increase in 19 years as at 2023.
Nigeria is the 6th most terrorized country with 7.907 points in the 2024 Global Terrorism Index (GTI).

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked Nigeria as the 12th poorest country in the world in terms of gross per capita income in 2025. The North accounted for 75% of the fatalities in 2023 due to insurgency, rural banditry, farmer-herder clashes etc.”

Okolo, therefore, urged security personnel to collaborate with relevant security agencies and maintain discipline and focus in the discharge of their operational duties, while calling on community members to join forces with the police in tackling crime across Nigeria, noting that, “the police cannot do it alone”.

Earlier, the CSP, State Intelligence Department, Lagos State Command, Aminu Abdulsalam, who spoke on, “Logical reasoning in intelligence”, identified key logical skills for intelligence gathering as deductive, inductive, abductive, dialogical reasoning among others, adding that, “Such skills are the backbone of credible and actionable intelligence.”

According to Abdulsalam, “Logical reasoning is crucial in intelligence gathering as it enables analysts to evaluate information objectively and identify patterns, it builds sound conclusions, separate facts from assumptions and reduce the risk of errors and misrepresentations.

“By applying logical reasoning, intelligence analysts can provide actionable insights to support informed decision-making,” he added.

Commending the NPF, the Founder and President of ECAPI, Ambassador Samuel Eniola Adam, extolled IGP Egbetokun’s vision for a safer Nigeria.

Adam said the IGP’s initiative collaboration with the police has enhanced intelligence gathering, boost expertise and improved community relationships.

Speaking on the need for the training, he said it aims to leverage the expertise of the Force Intelligence Department to train Special Private Detectives as investigators.

“These detectives will gather high-quality intelligence to support the police and other law enforcement agencies in combating crime and insecurity in the country,” Adam said.

“It is cheaper and more effective to prevent crime than to fight it. Community members are best positioned to identify criminal elements living among them. Our job at ECAPI is to sensitise the public and relay critical information to law enforcement for appropriate action.”

He added that: “At the end of the training, we expect our detectives to provide valuable insights and intelligent information to support law enforcement agencies to drive policing strategies.”

Adam called for a stronger collaboration between communities and security agencies, stressing that national safety requires active public involvement and the responsibility of all.

Also, Reagan Onuoha, the National Training Coordinator for the Police and Lagos State Commander, ECAPI, described the initiative as more than just a capacity-building exercise, but a transformative response to the increasing need for community-led solutions to security challenges.

Onuoha expressed gratitude to participants while reaffirming the force’s commitment to organise reforms aimed at improving public trust, operational readiness, and safety across the nation.

He, therefore, called on the citizens to join ECAPI to tackle insecurity in the country, adding that ECAPI’s proven track record in crime prevention made the police to incorporate the initiative into its activities.

“We want everyone to support the NPF in the area of intelligence gathering to curb crime in our society to make the nation safe from crime,” Onuoha added.

One of the trainees, Joy Ogbeide, applauded the efforts of ECAPI for the training, to ensure criminalities, drug abuse and illegal activities were brought down to the barest minimum.

“So far, the training on intelligence gathering has been informative, educative and impactful to boost the consciousness about our environment,” Ogbeide said.

“It is a training every good Nigerian should aspire to pertain in. ECAPI is doing a wonderful job by ensuring drug abuse, illegal activities and various criminalities in the society are curbed.”