In recent years, Nigeria’s private security industry has developed rapidly, providing services to international organisations, NGOs, embassies and local and international businesses particularly the oil companies. Security has thus become one the most significant players in the Nigerian economy. According to the best informed estimates of an independent study in 2005 (‘The Globalisation of Private Security, Country Report: Nigeria’), in 2005 there were between 1,500 and 2,000 private security companies (PSCs) in Nigeria, employing more than 100,000 people. The largest PSCs, in terms of headcount, are Prudential Security and Halogen Security. Prudential Security has almost 9,000 guards and operates throughout the country. Halogen Security employs approximately 4,000 guards.
International security companies have started to arrive in Nigeria; Outsourcing Services Ltd. is perhaps the most notable of these new arrivals. OSL commenced operations in 2002 as a component of the South African company Gray Security. Gray Security was then purchased by Securicor and is now part of the global security company Group4Securicor.
Some companies in Nigeria have begun to move into niche areas, including e-security. One example is Niche Konsult, an information technology security firm based in Abuja. International firms are also involved in providing e-security in Nigeria. For instance, there is the Unified Security Solutions Ltd., based in the UK.
There appear to be a number of factors behind the substantial size and rapid growth of private security in Nigeria. Although in the past few decades some sections of the population have benefited hugely from the country’s petroleum riches, poverty remains widespread, resulting in inequalities of wealth and an increase in crime and general insecurity. Private security is considered vital by most households and companies that can afford it
According to Aaron Karp, ‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City, the rate of private gun ownership in Nigeria is 1.5 firearms per 100 people. This compares to 1.4 in neighbouring Benin, 2.8 in neighbouring Cameroon, 6.7 in the UK and 88.8 in the USA.
In 2008, according to Benjamin Petrini, ‘Sub-Saharan Africa, 1995-2008, Total Recorded Intentional Homicide, Completed, Rate per 100,000 Population’, there were 1.32 homicides (by any means) per 100,000 of the population in Nigeria. This compares to 15.1 in Benin, 19.7 in Cameroon, 1.3 in the UK and 5.35 in the USA.
The private security sector is regulated by the Private Guard Companies Act (1986). The Act states that PSCs must be registered under or pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, and must have a licence from the Minister of Internal Affairs. Licences have to be renewed by written application to the Ministry every other year. Furthermore, all PSCs are required to be wholly owned by Nigerians. The use of any firearms or ammunition by PSCs is forbidden.
Although the Act stipulates that the training syllabus and instruction notes of a PSC must be approved by the Minister, in practice there are no required training standards and the quality and extent of the training thus varies significantly. Some companies offer training on a commercial basis, such as TransWorld Security’s School of Management and Security.
Since the international companies in Nigeria are Nigerian-owned, and operate through different management agreements with international companies, they comply with the law and with the provisions of the Private Guards Companies Act.
As of 2005, there were at least five private security associations in Nigeria. One of these is the Nigerian Chapter of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), a global organisation which supports industry standards and which concentrates specifically on training and education. National associations include the National Professional Security Association (NPSA), the Society of Security Practitioners of Nigeria (SSPN), the Security and Safety Association of Nigeria (SSAN) and the Association of Private Security Practitioners in Nigeria (APSPN).
The various industry associations aim to encourage higher standards and new legislation to monitor and regulate the sector. In addition, some of the private security associations are lobbying for the right of the private security sector to supply an armed service, though opinions on this issue differ among the companies. PSCs are permitted, via arrangements with the Nigerian police, to add an armed component to their services. Indeed, most PSCs of any size and standard have entered into such arrangements, and have a number of Mobile Police officers (MoPol) constantly assigned to their operations.
