Operator urges churches to develop risk strategies as insecurity intensifies

Churches in Nigeria have been urged to develop risk strategies as insecurity intensifies in the country.

Halogen Group, Nigeria’s leading security risk organisation, which made this call, also advised churches to take security as a critical component of their management system.

Wale Olaoye, Halogen’s chief executive, spoke at the 9th annual conference of the Church Administrators’ Society of Nigeria (CASON) on ‘Church and the Challenge of Insecurity’ held in Lagos.

Olaoye counselled the church administrators to be deliberate about security matters in their churches by engaging security professionals to do risk assessment for their worship centres.

“This is to forestall security breaches; there is a need for church managers to engage security professionals to help do threats and risk assessment of their facilities across the different dimensions.

“There is a need for risk assessment on kidnapping, armed robbery, assassinations, and other areas of threats. There is a need to take a holistic look at different areas of vulnerabilities”, he advised.

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Olaoye noted that there was a need for them to hire an expert as head of security, working together with the security committee.

He advised them to develop a security policy document which would state various risks that everybody who attends the church is exposed to; and how the safety of the people could be guaranteed.

“This also covers the safety of your assets, the safety of the people, safety against kidnapping, rape, bombing, and the security of the entire church.

“There must be a strict access control system in place. At this point, the training of ushers should no more be limited to just ushering. They are now part of the church security system,” he said.

The Halogen boss added that dedicated budget for security must be made available to manage emerging threats against the church institution.

He advised further that churches must begin to wake up to the reality of cyber-security threats, explaining that offerings paid online were vulnerable to cyber-attacks

Speaking about the event, the founder of the Church Administrators’ Society of Nigeria (CASON), Pastor Seyi Oladimeji explained that the body was established to bridge the knowledge gap that exists between church managers and their counterparts in the corporate world.

The event was attended by key church leaders and administrators from different parts of Nigeria which included Senior Pastor, First Assembly, iSteve Akoni.

Others were Senior Pastor, Christ Livingspring Apostolic Ministry (CLAM), Apostle Wole Oladiyun and Reverend Stephen Oyinlola representing Lagos State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rt. Reverend Stephen Adegbite and other eminent church leaders.