The UK Government has hosted a multi-stakeholder meeting in Abuja to discuss how its Serious & Organised Crime (SOC) Prevent Programme is making significant strides in deterring vulnerable young people from joining organised crime groups in Nigeria.
Launched as a three-year pilot in December 2021, the programme is designed to disrupt Nigerian organised crime groups by redirecting at-risk youth towards positive alternatives in Bayelsa, Edo, Zamfara, and Lagos states.
In select local governments of these states, the SOC Prevent Programme has established robust structures and delivered various interventions, including back-to-school initiatives, digital skills acquisition, dance and drama workshops, and sports interventions.
Collaborating closely with the Nigeria Police Force, the programme has trained 83 officers in the Prevent methodology, reinforcing the commitment to institutionalise this approach to tackling SOC.
To date, approximately 1,500 beneficiaries across the four states have been diverted from potential involvement in organised crime.
Speaking at the meeting, the Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Lever, said: “Serious & organised crime is a priority for both Nigeria and the UK and can take many forms.
Ranging from online-focused activities like cybercrime to the physical movement of illicit commodities and people in the form of trafficking.
“Our results in Nigeria have proven that the Prevent methodology works, and it has been successful in diverting young people from choosing a life of crime.
“I believe that the valuable discussions that took place today will smooth the way for Prevent to be fully institutionalised in Nigeria.”
The meeting included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), INTERPOL, the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and others.
The Prevent programme is an approach to tackling SOC. Others are to pursue, protect, and prepare. Prevent methodology looks to prevent or deter people from engaging in SOC by raising awareness of the consequences of SOC and developing techniques to deter people from continuing criminality.
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
