Security experts and justice-sector stakeholders have warned Nigerian agencies against rushing into artificial intelligence-led crime fighting without the rules, training and safeguards needed to keep it accountable. At a roundtable in Abuja on readiness for AI in security-sector reform and governance, speakers argued that the technology could sharpen policing, but only if it is matched by clear institutions, ethical standards and broader public oversight.

Peter Maduoma, executive director of the CLEEN Foundation, said the real issue was no longer whether AI would affect security work, but whether Nigeria was prepared to use it responsibly. He said adoption would require stronger institutions, legal and ethical guardrails, skilled personnel and sustained funding, warning that the benefits of faster analysis and improved responsiveness could be undermined by bias, intrusive surveillance, privacy risks and weak regulation.

In a separate paper presentation, criminology professor Etannibi Alemika cautioned that AI in criminal justice could deepen injustice if its limits were not widely understood. He said poor and marginalised people could be especially exposed to harm if automated systems were used without proper scrutiny, adding that the key questions were where AI should be applied, how it should be used and how decision-makers should interpret its outputs.

The Nigeria Police Force also signalled interest in the technology, saying it sees value in AI and other digital tools for intelligence gathering, predictive policing and operational efficiency. But a representative for Inspector General of Police Tunji Disu said those gains must be balanced with respect for human rights, ethical standards and public trust, with the force committed to upgrading its institutions, training officers and aligning with global best practice.

Researchers and policy experts have made similar arguments in recent work on AI and crime prevention in Nigeria, saying the technology could strengthen law enforcement if backed by investment in infrastructure, capacity building and clear rules. Their concern mirrors the broader debate now emerging in Abuja: not whether AI should enter the security sector, but whether the country can govern it well enough to prevent new forms of abuse.

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Source: Noah Wire Services