Following the worsening spate of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of insecurity in Nigeria, a group of women under the aegis of Women in Security (WIS), have called for the collective efforts of both men and women, as well as strengthening of the family unit to tackle the menace and reduce it to the barest minimum.
The call was made over the weekend during the WIS 2026 Conference in Lagos. The event, organised by the American Society for Industrial Safety (ASIS), Lagos Chapter 206, was attended by practitioners from both the public and private security organisations, including the police, military and other security agencies.
In her opening remarks, the Conference Chairperson and Vice President for Operations and Business Growth, Bulwark Intelligence Solution Limited, Chisom Emenalum, faulted the insinuation that security sector is for men only, calling on both men and women to collaborate and ensure that the menace is brought to an end.
She noted that even though the sector appears to be male-dominated, it should be gender fluid and be able to accommodate women who have the right skills, discipline and capacity to play in the sector. “We’re here to break that bias and make women understand that as long as they put in the right work into whatever they’re doing, including in the security space, they will also bring value to the table,” she said.
Themed, “Women who secure the future, give to gain,” she said that the Conference was to talk about what women can do to better secure their future in terms of investing in themselves and others, growing a stable community and ensuring that they have the right skills to impact and influence their environment positively.
She noted that the first place to start fighting insecurity is at the family unit. She said: “The smallest unit in the community is the family, right? If women understand their role in growing a family, society will be better for it.
“A child that is going to be an armed robber will start showing that sign from childhood. So, if we leave education for schools alone, we’ll have incomplete or half-baked people in the society. The family needs to understand the role they play in raising a child; a sound child that can fit into the society and bring value.
“So, mothers need to ensure that the right discipline is given to children as they are growing up so that they don’t come into the society and become a nuisance. Women also have other abilities. They are very intuitive and they have emotional intelligence,” she said.
She stressed that to holistically combat insecurity in Nigeria, women need to be involved because according to her, women pay attention to details. “I believe women can thrive in the security sector very well because they pay attention to details, they are more intuitive and they like to collect data.
We have so many things in the security sector that the women’s personal touch can magically change. So, for a balanced ecosystem, there has to be male and female gender involved in security matters because both genders bring something unique to the table,” she submitted.
Also, the keynote speaker and President of Woodhall Capital Group, Mrs Mojisola Hunponu-Wusu, speaking on the topic: ‘Strategic Audacity: Leading with Boldness and Resilience,’ said security is not only about preservation but also about caution. “Women, by nature, start protecting a child even from the stomach. So, your first security officer as a child and as a human being, is your mother. So, when you bring that motherly skill into anybody, by instinct, you’re there to protect and to help. That caution is taken within a barrier to make sure that that child also does well in life. So, you don’t want to overprotect the child. In Nigeria, you can see what women do. Look at all the female police officers. They’re here. They’re even at leadership positions. You still need people that are protecting you with caution,” she said.
She noted that women need courage, character and conviction to be able to make impacts in the security sector.
She equally said women need not just mentorship but sponsorship to be able to succeed in whatever field they are playing, including security. “It’s not enough to just mentor women; we need to actually sponsor them. It’s so easy for women to be mentored. You open the door, they walk in. A sponsor ensures that they stay in the room and they hear of opportunities that may not otherwise have been given to them,’ she said.
She stated that Nigeria needs resilient women who would take audacious steps to break and shatter the ceiling, so that more women can join them. “Somebody needs to make sure that after the ceiling is broken, it is shattered so that others can come in. It’s going to need audacity. It’s going to need courage, and it’s going to need resilience,” she submitted.
Chairman of the ASIS Lagos chapter 206, Olufemi Kayode, said the event was to build capacity for the next generation of women that would secure the future for all.
On the contribution of ASIS to reducing insecurity in Nigeria, he said: “ASIS is about professional development, career development, education and stuff like that. What we’re doing is to build capacity and empower those that are going to secure us. So, it’s not about just guns, kits and guards but there’s strategy involved. There’s planning and we have to help those people because we have a lot of seasoned security professionals retiring but we see that the upcoming security professionals need a lot more. And that’s why we’re trying to help them by bringing experienced people together. They are the ones that are going to contribute and help the government, the communities and our people,” he said.
Panelists, including the founder and chief executive officer of Protégé Professionals, Nwamaka Onyiuke and a board director, ASIS Sub-Saharan African Region and former chairmen of ASIS Lagos Chapter 206, Joko Olanitori, among others panelists spoke about the importance of the conference.
Onyiuke expressed happiness with the level of women participation in security sector, saying, “I’m happy with what they’re doing because this is going to encourage other women coming up to know that they have a body and a society of people that they can align with, that can lead them and mentor them in the way of security. So, what they’re doing is really great and right, and forms a platform and foundation for other people to be encouraged to join.”
On WIS’ role to reduce insecurity in Nigeria, she narrated how women neutralised terrorists on Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in 2013/2024, saying that women were already playing significant roles in that direction, just that it could be silent.
Olanitori said the best way to tackle insecurity is to start building the capacity of the women in that sector. “When you know what you have to do, how to do it and when to do it, you’ll be able to add value,” she added.
On what should be done to reduce insecurity in Nigeria, she also said: “We need to look at both the kinetic and the non-kinetic angles. We must look at different security setups, all those in government, private and corporate sectors; we must come together, share intelligence and work together.
“We need to fight insecurity holistically and not in silos. Silos will not help but if you synergise and do it together and holistically, it will produce results. The government needs to get the trust of the people so that the people can collaborate with them. They need that collaboration.”
