Against All Odds, Honouring Nigeria’s Security Frontliners

In a country where insecurity touches nearly every aspect of daily life, Nigeria’s security forces are quietly demonstrating courage, resilience, and coordination that often goes unseen. From tackling insurgency in the North-East to combating banditry, kidnappings, cybercrime, and urban violence across the nation, these men and women operate under immense pressure, often at great personal risk. In understanding the risk they go through, the 2025 RazorNews Inter-Agency Cooperation Awards aims to bring their achievements into the spotlight, honouring 27 individuals and institutions whose commitment to collaboration, innovation, and professional excellence has strengthened the nation’s fight against crime and terror. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports

For many Nigerians, the sense of insecurity has become a daily reality as they grapple with multifaceted security threats ranging from insurgency and terrorism in the North-East, banditry and kidnapping in the North-West and North-Central, separatist agitations in the South-East, to cultism, cybercrime and economic sabotage in urban areas.

Yet, despite these grim realities, there is growing evidence that Nigeria’s security architecture is responding with renewed vigour, improved coordination and better operational focus, even with the odds.

Thus, by the time the curtains rise on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, for the maiden edition of the RazorNews Inter-Agency Cooperation Awards, no fewer than 27 outstanding personalities and institutions drawn from across the nation’s security architecture will be honoured for their exceptional commitment to collaboration, professionalism and national service in the collective fight against insecurity.

The award, themed “Inter-Agency Unity: The Power of Collective Action,” was designed to celebrate the often unseen sacrifices of Nigeria’s security community while renewing national attention on the critical role of cooperation among agencies in safeguarding lives, property and territorial integrity.

For RazorNews, organisers of the event, the award is not just another ceremonial gathering, but represents a deliberate intervention in Nigeria’s security discourse, conceived to deepen the culture of synergy among security institutions and reinforce the understanding that no single agency can tackle the country’s complex security challenges in isolation.

Publisher of RazorNews, Mr. Sunday Odita, noted that the initiative was born out of years of meticulous observation of Nigeria’s security ecosystem and the central role cooperation plays in achieving lasting peace. “Awards do not happen in a vacuum. They are conceived to celebrate virtues and excellence, to honour exemplary work and to encourage the perpetuation of edifying actions…”

He added that a lecture on “Institutional Collaboration as a Tool for Counter-Terrorism and Crime” will headline the event, with IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun as Special Guest of Honour, Dr. Bone Chinye Efoziem as Guest Speaker and ACC John Attah Onoja delivering the keynote. The unveiling of Diary of a Silent Reformer: IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun will also form part of the ceremony.

The organisers stressed that the awards stem from journalism’s duty not only to document events but to help shape the national conversation on unity and resilience. With decades spent reporting defence and security, Odita noted that inter-agency cooperation remains the strongest determining factor in operational success. He recalled a time when night travel across Nigeria posed little risk, unlike today when even daytime journeys evoke anxiety.

Leading the pack, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, is celebrated as the Champion of National Stability & Intelligence Coordination, while Rt. Hon. Ndudi Godwin Elumelu is honoured as the Best Security Supportive Politician of the Year, and His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori emerges as the Best Security Supportive Governor of the Year, alongside Dr. Bone Chinye Efoziem, who is recognised as the Security Supportive Chief Executive of the Year.

CG Bashir Adewale Adeniyi of the Nigeria Customs Service is recognised as the Best Agency Boss in Illicit Arms & Drugs Recovery, while the Nigerian Army is named the Outstanding Defence Force of the Year, and Nigerian Police Pension Limited receives the Distinguished Service Award in Police Welfare and Pension Reform 2025.

Mitchell Ofoyeju, the NDLEA Edo State Commander, receives the Award for Bravery in Service, just as Mr. Emma Nnadozie is celebrated with the Excellence Award in Security Journalism and IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, NPM, PhD, is bestowed the Lifetime Award of Integrity & Excellence in Leadership. In the same spirit, Mrs. Buduka Johnson, Managing Director of Epss Private Security Services Ltd, receives the Excellence Award in Private Security, while AIG Chinedu Oko, Psc, of the Maritime Police Command at the Force Headquarters Annex, Kam Salem House, Lagos, is honoured with the Leadership and Integrity Award.

Juliet Ohahuru-Obiora is recognised as the Online Violence Protection Advocate of the Year, and Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, MFR, mni, the Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service, receives the Lifetime Achievement Award in Correctional Service. Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, is named Agency Head of the Year, just as ACI A. S. Akinlabi of the Nigeria Immigration Service is honoured as the Agency Spokesman of the Year, and Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, OFR, Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, receives the Lifetime Achievement Award in National Infrastructure Protection.

Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, General Manager of LASTMA, is recognised as the Traffic Management Chief Executive Officer of the Year, while UBA is named the Most Cyber Security Conscious Bank of the Year and Corps Marshal Shehu Muhammed of the Federal Road Safety Corps is acknowledged for his service. CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh of Lagos State is awarded Best CP in Anti-Crime, just as CP Ikioye Livingston Orutugu of the Anambra State Police Command is recognised as the Best CP in Community Policing, and DC Dapo Afeni, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, receives the Award of Dedication and Professional Excellence.

Raymond Dokpesi Jnr. receives the Award for Outstanding Media Support for National Security, Nigeria Customs Service PTML Command is honoured as the Outstanding Customs Command of the Year, and Dr. Ayo Ogunsan, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, is named the Security Supportive Personality of the Year. Meanwhile, the Newmark Group earns the Strategic Communication Impact Award.

Behind every advancement in Nigeria’s security landscape are men and women who operate daily in high-risk environments. The past decade has been defined by complex battles against insurgency, violent extremism, banditry and organised criminal networks. Communities once seized by Boko Haram have gradually been reclaimed, and the improved tempo of operations has restored cautious optimism in affected regions.

Weekly military briefings now highlight neutralised terrorists, intercepted arms shipments and significant surrenders of fighters—developments made possible by tighter coordination and unified operational planning across services. Joint task forces, intelligence fusion centres and collaborative border operations have become more routine, reducing operational silos that once hampered national response.

Key security leaders, including former Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Gwabin Musa and IGP Kayode Egbetokun, have been widely credited for strengthening this culture of collaboration. Their emphasis on joint training, intelligence sharing and professionalism has filtered down through commands and formations, reshaping the collective security outlook.

However, the human cost remains profound. Every recovered weapon or dismantled terror cell comes with stories of officers wounded, families grieving and communities traumatised. The RazorNews Inter-Agency Cooperation Awards therefore serve as a poignant reminder that the relative peace enjoyed in many parts of the country is anchored on sacrifice.

Today’s threats, terrorism, cybercrime, arms trafficking, financial crimes, drug abuse and human trafficking, are increasingly interconnected. No single agency can confront them alone. Nigeria’s progress depends on unity of purpose, and the 2025 honourees symbolise this ethos, demonstrating that collaboration remains the most effective path to national stability.

By celebrating these individuals and institutions, RazorNews reinforces a simple message: Nigeria’s security future rests on the strength of collective action and unwavering cooperation.