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

Operation Kosaye is emerging as a cornerstone of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s security doctrine in Nigeria, potentially serving as a model for tackling cross-border crime. This coordinated security offensive has significantly altered the security narrative along the Lagos-Ogun border, an area long synonymous with danger for motorists and residents.

For years, the forests separating Lagos and Ogun states, particularly the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode corridor, were notorious for criminal activities. Kidnappers, armed robbers, and other violent criminals exploited the dense forests as escape routes. However, Operation Kosaye, launched with the Yoruba expression meaning "there is no hiding place," is systematically denying criminals these sanctuaries.

The operation, conceived by Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu and executed through the joint efforts of Ogun State Commissioner of Police Bode Ojajuni and his Lagos State counterpart Fatai Tijani, focuses on forests, border settlements, and ungoverned spaces. Its scope extends from Kara and the Long Bridge through Sagamu, Ogere, and Ijebu Ode to the Ikorodu and Epe boundary communities.

Within weeks of its launch, Operation Kosaye has yielded substantial results. Security operatives have rescued kidnapped victims, neutralized suspected kidnappers in encounters, arrested numerous suspects, and recovered a cache of sophisticated weapons, including AK-47 rifles. Criminal camps and illegal settlements hidden deep within the forests, which facilitated the impunity of criminal syndicates, have also been destroyed.

Authorities emphasize that Operation Kosaye is not a temporary show of force but a sustained effort. Supported by aerial surveillance, intelligence gathering, and continuous inter-state collaboration, the operation is designed to permanently secure the forests that criminals once considered safe havens, marking a significant shift in Nigeria's approach to internal security.

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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.