No Hiding Place: Inside Operation Kosaye And Ogun’s New Security Doctrine

By Seyi Bakare

From intelligence-led policing and inter-state collaboration to sustained investment in security infrastructure, Operation Kosaye is emerging as more than a police operation. It is becoming the cornerstone of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s evolving security doctrine and a potential template for tackling cross-border crime in Nigeria.

For years, the forests straddling the Lagos-Ogun border were synonymous with danger. Motorists dreaded the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode corridor after dusk. Farmers ventured into the bush with trepidation, while residents of boundary communities lived with the constant fear that kidnappers, armed robbers and other violent criminals could strike at will before disappearing into the dense forests separating the two states.

Today, that fear is gradually giving way to cautious confidence.

The change is being driven by Operation Kosaye—a coordinated security offensive that has, within weeks of its launch, altered the security narrative across one of Nigeria’s busiest economic corridors.

“Kosaye,” a Yoruba expression meaning there is no hiding place, is more than the name of a security operation. It encapsulates a new doctrine of intelligence-led policing designed to deny criminals the sanctuaries they have long exploited along the Lagos-Ogun axis.

Launched at the Police Training School, Iperu-Remo, the operation immediately sent a clear signal that state boundaries would no longer provide escape routes for criminal syndicates.

A Joint Offensive Delivering Results

Operation Kosaye was conceived by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, and rolled out through the coordinated efforts of the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, and his Lagos State counterpart, Fatai Tijani. Its operational focus spans the forests, border settlements and ungoverned spaces stretching from Kara and the Long Bridge through Sagamu, Ogere and Ijebu Ode to the Ikorodu and Epe boundary communities.

The results have been both swift and significant.

Security operatives combing the forests around Iperu and other flashpoints along the J3/J4 corridor rescued kidnapped victims who had been held captive along the Ijebu Ode axis, neutralised suspected kidnappers during fierce encounters, arrested scores of criminal suspects and recovered sophisticated weapons, including AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns, locally fabricated firearms, ammunition and communication equipment.

Equally significant was the destruction of criminal camps and illegal settlements hidden deep inside the forests—hideouts that had, for years, enabled kidnapping syndicates to operate with alarming impunity.

Perhaps more importantly, police authorities have made it clear that Operation Kosaye is not a one-off show of force. Supported by aerial surveillance, intelligence gathering and sustained inter-state collaboration, it is designed as a continuous operation intended to permanently deny criminal gangs access to the forests they once regarded as safe havens.

Security Through Collaboration

For Governor Dapo Abiodun, the significance of Operation Kosaye extends beyond arrests and recovered weapons.

It validates a philosophy his administration has consistently advanced since 2019—that contemporary security challenges require collaboration rather than competition among states.

For too long, criminals exploited jurisdictional boundaries, committing crimes in one state and escaping into another before security agencies could effectively coordinate their response. Operation Kosaye dismantles that advantage by creating seamless operational cooperation between Lagos and Ogun States.

Commending the initiative through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, Governor Abiodun described the operation as bold, proactive and intelligence-driven, noting that it had significantly boosted public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force while making the Lagos-Ogun corridor increasingly inhospitable to kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements.

He urged other states across the federation to embrace similar collaborative security frameworks, arguing that organised crime can only be defeated when law enforcement agencies transcend administrative boundaries and work as one coordinated force.

The governor also praised Commissioners Ojajuni and Tijani, alongside the officers and men participating in the operation, for their professionalism, courage and commitment to duty. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting security agencies with logistics, operational vehicles, surveillance technology and other critical resources necessary to sustain the gains already recorded.

His Lagos State counterpart, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, echoed similar sentiments, describing the operation as a major offensive against criminality and pledging continued support through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.

That both governors have spoken with one voice underscores one of the defining features of Operation Kosaye: a rare but welcome example of inter-state cooperation against criminal networks that have historically exploited state boundaries to evade justice.

Built on Years of Deliberate Investment

Operation Kosaye did not emerge in isolation.

Rather, it represents the latest chapter in a broader security architecture painstakingly developed by the Abiodun administration over the past seven years.

From the outset, the governor recognised that sustainable economic growth could only flourish where lives and property were secure.

That conviction informed the strengthening of the Ogun State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps, through continuous recruitment, specialised training and enhanced operational capacity.

The corps has been equipped with patrol vehicles, motorcycles, communication gadgets and intelligence assets to improve rapid response and community policing across the state.

Governor Abiodun has equally insisted that Amotekun must remain disciplined, professional and accountable, repeatedly warning operatives against extortion, abuse of power and any conduct capable of eroding public confidence in the corps.

Beyond Amotekun, the administration revitalised the Ogun State Security Trust Fund, creating a sustainable platform for private-sector participation in security financing.

Police formations across the state have also benefited from consistent government support through infrastructure upgrades, patrol vehicles, communication equipment and other operational logistics.

The administration has further strengthened community policing by deepening engagement with traditional rulers, youth organisations, community leaders and local vigilante groups, recognising that intelligence gathering remains the first line of defence against criminality.

Protecting a Strategic Gateway

Ogun occupies a uniquely strategic position within Nigeria.

Bordering Lagos—the nation’s commercial hub—and sharing an international boundary with the Republic of Benin, the state serves as both an economic gateway and a critical transit corridor.

That geography also presents unique security challenges.

Recognising this reality, Governor Abiodun has consistently prioritised border security as a strategic imperative.

Only recently, the state government, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, met with the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the South-West to deepen cooperation against cross-border crime while consolidating gains recorded under the Gateway Shield security initiative.

Similarly, security agencies comprising the police, the military’s 35 Artillery Brigade, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Amotekun jointly undertook confidence-building patrols and operational assessments along the Ogun-Ondo boundary, particularly within the Ogun Waterside axis.

The objective was unmistakable: to extend the collaborative security model beyond the Lagos border and ensure that every vulnerable frontier receives equal vigilance.

Redrawing the Security Map

Taken together, these initiatives reveal a coherent governance philosophy.

Governor Abiodun views security not merely as law enforcement but as the foundation upon which economic development, industrial growth and social stability are built.

That philosophy carries particular significance for Ogun State, home to one of Nigeria’s largest industrial clusters and a major gateway for the movement of people and goods into Lagos.

Factories cannot thrive where workers are afraid.

Investors do not commit capital where insecurity prevails.

Farmers cannot cultivate their land under the constant threat of kidnapping.

In that context, Operation Kosaye is far more than a successful police operation. It represents another milestone in an evolving security doctrine aimed at making Ogun State one of Nigeria’s safest destinations for investment, commerce and human development.

The rescued victims, dismantled criminal camps, recovered weapons and numerous arrests demonstrate that intelligence-led policing, backed by political will, inter-agency synergy and sustained inter-state collaboration, can produce measurable results.

The real test, however, lies in sustaining the momentum.

If the Lagos-Ogun model continues to deliver results—and if other states embrace similar collaborative frameworks—Operation Kosaye may ultimately be remembered not simply as a successful security operation, but as the blueprint for a new era of policing in Nigeria.

For criminals who once relied on forests and state boundaries as shields, the message is now unmistakable.

There is, indeed, no hiding place.