G4S steps up protective security measures ahead of Nigerian elections

Due to growing demand, in January 2023, G4S says that it has increased its Nigerian workforce by 26% compared with the previous year.

“We have strengthened our capabilities due to the very real threat of violence, especially pre and post-election,” said Sid Odoi, G4S Nigeria’s Managing Director. “Despite being Africa’s largest economy, we are seeing an increase in violent crime – however, our in-country security experts are constantly rising to the challenges and delivering top tier services for our customers.”

According to the company, demand for Close Protection Officers (CPOs) has increased as companies seek greater protection for their executives and employees as they travel.

CPOs work closely with the Secure Transportation Services team, which provides executive, staff and crew transportation including scheduling, dispatching and recovery services. Drivers and officers are trained to City & Guilds standard in defensive driving and close protection. Vehicles are equipped with mobile communications, vehicle tracking, trauma kits and extinguishers.

In-vehicle communications means the G4S control room can share live updates relating to incidents, road closures and traffic collisions with the G4S team in the vehicle. The company says that the capability to know the whereabouts of executives and employees in real-time is a service increasingly requested by customers, whether they are multinationals or Nigeria-based. It tracks vehicles by attaching a geo-tracking device, while individuals are tracked through an app installed on their smartphone.

If a customer finds themselves facing a security threat, such as a protest or a crowd surrounding their building, they can call upon G4S’s response team for a safe extraction. Working in partnership with the police, the response teams can then deploy officers to investigate.

G4S reports that demand for response services has increased by 30% in the build up to elections. Equally the number of drivers and response officers has risen by the same percentage.

Additionally, one multinational with operations in Nigeria now requires 40% more security officers and has increased patrols to 24 hours from 12-hours, in direct response to election-related unrest.

They have done this as a precaution to deter potential criminals, protect their assets and have seen the benefits of employing security officers who are using real time and predictive data, evaluation and technology to carry out strategic patrols.

G4S’s own data analytics app, Risk360, allows security officers to create incident records remotely on site. This data is analysed to produce trend patterns and heat maps which allow for better planning of where resources are most needed.

Thanks to Risk360, this customer has seen 82 foiled thefts between January – June 2022 and eight arrests. The number of successful thefts dropped by more than a third during the same period. The trends feature showed that over the last 12 months, Thursdays and Fridays were days when thefts were most likely to occur. As such, G4S increased patrols during these evenings.

“The use of data and analysis is helping us and more importantly our customer, to make strategic decisions which are saving time and money. The benefits of Risk360 are staggering and we’re increasingly demonstrating this to our global customers here in Nigeria,” added Sid.

“We have a duty to inform and protect our customers to the best of our ability – which aligns with our company value to always put safety first. Ahead of the elections, we’ve been sending customers regular bulletins that capture potential security threats.”

This bulletin informs customers of high risk areas and possible threats to be aware of. In the first bulletin, customers were provided with a Risk Heat Map detailing States that have perceived higher levels of risk to visit or work in.

Every day, customers receive the report which highlights any incidents of note from the day before and based on analysis of security data, informs them of events or large activities across different states.

“We expect a lot of footfall traffic over the next few weeks as supporters and protesters travel. Therefore it’s really important that customers are aware of what is happening across the country and the Daily Intelligence Bulletin will help them plan for their day and make their movements safe and without disruption,” Sid ccncluded.