What are the key issues facing the private security sector in Nigeria? What role do private security companies (PSCs) play and what is their relationship with the public security forces? This report from the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, examines the private security sector in Nigeria. Nigeria suffers from extreme inequality, rising crime, corrupt and abusive state security organisations, and conflict in the oil-rich Niger Delta. It is in this context that Nigeria’s private security industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, becoming a major part of the Nigerian economy.
Many significant PSCs in Nigeria have an armed police component seconded to their operations, resulting to some degree in a ‘privatisation’ of the public security forces. In the oil sector, the privatisation of public security is so extensive that it can be difficult to distinguish public policing from private security. Military forces are increasingly used to protect oil operations, and are maintained by oil companies. The extension of private security, particularly in the oil sector, alongside the privatisation of public forces, offers the possibility for a more professionalised security structure. However, it also raises issues regarding PSC involvement in complex political struggles and the division of authority between PSCs and public security forces.
The Private Guard Companies Act (1986) requires that PSCs in Nigeria be registered, licensed and Nigerian-owned, and prohibits the use of firearms by PSCs. The Minister of Internal Affairs assesses license applications, considering the character, competence and integrity of the company directors, amongst other things. Further issues with regard to the policies and legal framework for PSCs in Nigeria include:
- Qualifications and training – The Private Guards Act states that PSCs’ training must be approved by the Minster of Internal Affairs. In practice, however, there are no required standards of training, which varies widely across the sector.
- Wages and working conditions – Wages and working conditions are generally low and often exploitative, leading to a low level of commitment and service from guards.
- Monitoring and review – There is little monitoring, regulation or oversight of standards in the sector. The main exception is the frequent inspections of international PSCs, which, however, appear to involve an element of harassment.
- Industry associations – There are a number of industry associations which seek to promote higher standards and new legislation to regulate the sector. Some associations seek to limit the activities of international PSCs in Nigeria.
- Industry standards and regulation – Standards remain low in large parts of the sector, leading industry associations to call for tighter regulation.
- Private use of public policing – Use of public security forces for private security may undermine the concept of security as a public good. The willingness of the public security forces to resort to force raises ethical issues for international companies.
- Conflict in the Delta – The security situation in the Niger Delta is likely to mean a continued and expanding role for PSCs. The Nigerian state’s reliance on PSCs may involve them in increasingly dangerous and complex political and ethical situations.
