The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, LSSTF, Ayo Ogunsan, has called for expanded community participation in funding security infrastructure, revealing that the agency relies heavily on public donations to sustain operations across Lagos.
Ogunsan made the disclosure while speaking as a guest at a Peace Building and Conflict Prevention Seminar organised by the Rotary Club of Omole-Golden in partnership with Halogen Academy in Lagos.
Addressing participants, Ogunsan described the financial realities of maintaining security infrastructure in Nigeria’s commercial capital as daunting, noting that the Fund does not present a statutory budget to the state legislature.
“We are the only government agency that doesn’t present a budget to the House of Assembly. We survive on what you give,” he said, referencing the responsibility of supporting over 130 police stations, 20 area commands, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Department of State Services (DSS), and other security formations.
He disclosed that upon assuming office, he introduced a crowdfunding initiative to broaden community involvement in security financing.
According to him, large individual donations, even in billions of naira, are insufficient to meet the growing demands of policing and public safety in Lagos.
“So when you hear that someone donates N1 billion, you should know that it can only do so much. That’s why I started the crowdfunding idea, to expand participation,” Ogunsan stated.
The seminar, themed Peace Building and Conflict Prevention, brought together security stakeholders, policymakers and community leaders to address rising insecurity and declining global peacefulness.
In his keynote address, Chief Operating Officer of Halogen Academy, Dr. Wale Adeagbo, cited data from the 2025 Global Peace Index, noting that peacefulness has deteriorated in over 100 countries in the past decade.
He highlighted a 45 per cent rise in kidnapping incidents and a 52 per cent increase in community disputes in Nigeria, stressing the need for early threat detection and mitigation strategies.
Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, emphasised the importance of continuous dialogue and early warning signals in preventing conflict, while the Director of the DSS in Lagos, Mr. Babajide Adisa, underscored the need for accountability alongside non-kinetic peacebuilding approaches.
The conference reinforced the call for collective responsibility in addressing security challenges, with Ogunsan urging residents and private sector actors to play a more active role in sustaining Lagos’ security architecture.
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