.Says Varsities are refineries of national conscience
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, yesterday called for a strategic partnership between the nation’s universities and the police to tackle crimes in the society.
The IG also described Nigerian universities as refineries of national conscience that would aid the police in crime prevention.
Egbetokun spoke at the 3rd Edition of the 2025 Security Summit, Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) with the theme: “Strengthening the Partnership between Town and Gown in the Age of Insecurity”.
“By hosting this summit, LASUED has shown rare vision. You have reminded us that universities are not just repositories of knowledge; they are refineries of national conscience,” he stated.
Egbetokun said dialogue between the town and gown is not ceremonial but existential, adding, Nigeria’s future would not be secured by guns but by brains and moral discipline.
His words: “When universities bring knowledge, communities bring intelligence, the police bring discipline, and the media brings enlightenment, the result is not just security, but stability and progress.
Our goal is to turn the town-gown partnership into a movement, one that connects knowledge with service, technology with courage, and the people with the police. Because security is not the job of the police alone; it is the shared duty of the nation.”
The IG revealed that the nation is facing a complex and evolving security environment, saying, “we now battle crimes that move as swiftly as data, criminals who hide not in forests but behind firewalls.”
Egbetokun said the Nigeria police is expanding its cybercrime units, modernizing its forensic labs, deploying drones and data analysis, and investing in human capacity.
He stressed that the Nigeria police goal is to stop crime before they happen, rather than chase them after they occur.
“In this new age of connectivity, perhaps the most dangerous weapon in our society is not the gun, but the lie. Misinformation has become a silent bomb; it does not destroy buildings; it destroys trust. A single false post can cause chaos faster than a bullet can travel.
“Today, misinformation stands among the most potent threats to peace and stability in our society. With just one false narrative, an entire community can be thrown into turmoil. The Nigeria Police Force has been one of the worst hit.
“Every day, manipulated videos, distorted stories, and unfounded allegations spread across social media, painting the men and women who risk their lives for this nation as villains instead of protectors,” the IG added.
He said the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force has continued to do its utmost to build public confidence and earn the trust of the people through openness, accountability, and community engagement.
Egbetokun stressed that Nigerian universities must become think-tanks for public safety, and the Nigeria Police Force must serve as a living laboratory for applied research, stating,
“when knowledge and law cooperate, peace endures. The town–gown partnership is, at its heart, knowledge in uniform and wisdom in motion.”
The IG said for the partnership to work, he proposed five pillars, data-driven policing; youth behavioural studies; Cybersecurity and digital ethics education; community conflict management framework; and public trust evaluation.
In her speech, the Vice Chancellor of LASUED, Prof. Bidemi Lafiaji-Okuneye, said the university since 2023, has pursued a clear and deliberate security agenda to protect staff and students, strengthens
its programmes, safeguards its properties, and secure the environment.
The VC noted that a university cannot teach fearlessly, research rigorously, or serve selflessly in a climate of uncertainty.
“For this reason, we established this annual
summit as a platform to convene the security agencies, traditional institutions, local councils, civil societies, and our host communities to think together, plan together, and act together,” the VC noted.
