The Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) is taking its security intervention model beyond the traditional boundaries of government and corporate philanthropy, opening a new frontier of international partnerships aimed at strengthening the capacity of security agencies and deepening preventive security across Lagos. The move became evident when the Executive Secretary/CEO of the LSSTF, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, led a delegation of the Fund to the British High Commission in Lagos, where he sought stronger collaboration with the United Kingdom on security training, technical support, equipment and preventive interventions. The engagement marks what Ogunsan described as a deliberate effort to bring the international community more directly into Lagos’ evolving security architecture.
For an organisation established in 2007 as a public-private partnership to address the security challenges confronting Lagos, the initiative represents another phase in the evolution of the Fund. Ogunsan believes that the scale and complexity of contemporary security threats require broader partnerships, with governments, businesses, international organisations and diplomatic missions contributing their expertise and resources.
Welcoming the LSSTF delegation, the Deputy Head of Mission of the British High Commission in Lagos, Simon Field, who also serves as the mission’s Chief Operating Officer, expressed appreciation for the visit and indicated the Commission’s willingness to explore areas of mutual interest. Field was joined by the British High Commission’s Regional Director, Anglo-West Africa, Mark Smithson, Trade and Investment representative Miles Winston, and Home Office Programme Manager, Anne Yakubu.
For Ogunsan, the choice of the United Kingdom as one of the first international partners to approach was deliberate noting what he described as the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. “We know what’s always been the culture from any United Kingdom entity, or business, or association, or whatever in the country, and I think that is the result of the age-long relationship between the UK and Nigeria. We’ve been together for a very long time.”
Introducing the LSSTF to the British officials, Ogunsan explained that the Fund was created in response to a period when Lagos faced severe security challenges and the government alone could not provide all the resources required by security agencies. “Prior to 2007, Lagos was under a siege. We had a total collapse in our security system. It was practically difficult for our security operatives to have the proper training they need to keep the city safe. Ammunition and all the other security equipment that they need was not available,” he said.
According to him, the state chose a different path by creating an intervention mechanism that could mobilise resources from the private sector and other stakeholders and deploy them directly to security priorities. “For the last 19 years, I’m able to say that this agency is the most successful security model that we’ve ever had in this country. Over the years, all other states have come to this same source to learn from us how we’re able to stand alone and combat all these challenges.”
A major point Ogunsan emphasised was the Fund’s independence from government subvention. “We don’t have any subvention or support from any government,” he said. “The mandate is, go out there, meet individuals, the private sector, organisations, and then donation from the state government. We don’t push, we don’t put anyone under pressure, it’s voluntary.”The model, he added, places a premium on prudence and accountability. “We run a very small office but do big things. We don’t take money from people, and then begin to spend it lavishly and waste those resources.”
Ogunsan also outlined the Fund’s growing support for multiple security agencies, stressing that Lagos’ security architecture could not depend on a single institution. He listed the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and Nigerian Correctional Service among the agencies that have benefited from LSSTF interventions. “As long as you are a security agency and you are on this soil, we take responsibility. We support them financially. We give them infrastructure. We provide the equipment they need. We kit them up,” he said.
It is against this backdrop that Ogunsan is seeking to extend the Fund’s international partnerships. “What we need from you, sir, is very simple. We need your support in training and retraining our security operatives,” he told the British delegation.
He proposed specialised training and a “train-the-trainer” model under which selected Nigerian security personnel could receive advanced training, whether here in Nigeria and abroad, and subsequently transfer the knowledge to other officers. “We look forward to you helping us in training and retraining our operatives,” he said.
Ogunsan also appealed for support through equipment and technical resources that could be made available to Lagos security agencies. “If there are equipment that you feel are not needed in England, we will take them. We will use them, because I know whatever is used over there will be of great benefit to us,” he said. He further urged British companies operating in Nigeria to consider supporting the LSSTF’s security intervention programmes.
Ogunsan highlighted the LSSTF’s Campaign Against Crime, Cultism and Other Vices (LSSTF-CACCOV), which has expanded from a police-focused intervention into a broader preventive-security platform involving other stakeholders. The initiative, he explained, is designed to engage young people before they become vulnerable to criminal influences, including cultism, drug abuse and internet-related crimes. He also referenced the Fund’s support for community-based interventions, security awareness campaigns and the wider use of technology and surveillance as part of Lagos’ emerging preventive security architecture.
On her part, Ms. Anne Yakubu expressed the interest of the British High Commission to be involved in the Fund’s preventive security initiatives, particularly those targeting young people and communities vulnerable to crime. She highlighted that the effectiveness of preventive programmes often depends on the ability to demonstrate tangible success stories, particularly where interventions help individuals reject criminal pathways and build productive lives.
For the LSSTF, the engagement is not intended to be a one-off diplomatic courtesy call. The Fund is deliberately seeking to bring the international community into the security conversation of Lagos in a more structured manner.