A bill introduced in the Nigerian Senate aims to bring private security companies under rigorous military and intelligence oversight, establishing a powerful new council and imposing life imprisonment for any natural person found operating without a required license.
​Sponsored by Senator Prince Ned Munir Nwoko, the proposed legislation seeks to create the Nigerian Private Security Companies Registration Council (NPSCRC) with the core objective to “compliment the activities of the Military in the defence of the nations territory.”
​The bill mandates that the NPSCRC will be chaired by the National Security Adviser and include the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector General of the Police, and the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, ensuring the body is governed by the nation’s highest security echelon. Its functions include developing criteria for the grant and use of weapons by the private firms.
​According to the bill’s provisions, the registration requirement is intended to “provide adequate security for the protection of the lives and properties of citizens in the country by not over stretching the efforts of conventional security operatives.”
​Furthermore, the Act strictly defines the operational parameters for these firms, requiring them to “comply strictly to international humanitarian law and practice in carrying out their operation in the country.”
​In a powerful deterrent against non-compliance, the bill classifies running unlicensed security operations as a crime. Section 26 stipulates that any natural person found guilty of this offense “shall be liable to life imprisonment,” while corporate entities face mandatory winding up. The Federal High Court is designated as having original jurisdiction over all related offenses.
