Interrogating the Roles of International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL) in Regional Security in West Africa

This paper examined the role of International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO INTERPOL) in the regional security of West Africa. In recent years, the activities of transnational organized criminals in West Africa, has become a matter of major international concern. This has been perhaps most noticeable with regard to drug-trafficking, trafficking in persons and online fraud. Criminals from West Africa have developed presence where there are criminal opportunities to be exploited. The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL) role in combating crime and criminalities in West Africa seems not too noticeable, yet INTERPOL in the West African sub- region that comprises the 15 member countries of the region, synergizes to contain criminal activities within the region. This paper critically assessed the roles of INTERPOL in regional security management of West Africa. The paper utilized both primary and secondary methods of data gathering. The primary source was from Key Informant Interview (KII), and AT LAS TI 8 was used for the analysis. The secondary sources were generated from books, archives, publications, and internet among others. The findings show that regional security of West Africa is going through different challenges in the globalized environment, despite the efforts of INTERPOL in West Africa. The findings further revealed that criminal elements are increasing on a daily basis with sophisticated strategies. The paper recommends among others that the countries of West African sub-region should synergize and invest more on security because crimes in the global system is becoming very complex.