A retired Navy Commodore, Omatseye Nesiama, has promised a hitch-free outing during the forthcoming 4th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon scheduled for Feb. 2. Nesiama is in charge of security matters before and during the event.
Nesiama who was in charge of the security committee of the first and second editions of the 42km race revealed that he was back to run with the template developed for the first and second editions.
“I could not take part in the third edition because I was engaged in some other critical ventures. But, I am back to bring all relevant security stakeholders on the same page,” he said.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the security situation during the first and second editions of the event was adjudged of international standard.
No fewer than 5,000 marathoners from 45 countries have registered for the 2019 race.
Nesiama, who headed the security committee for the 2018 Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Championships held in Asaba last year, said that security at the marathon would be top-notched.
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He specifically appreciated the Lagos State police command who gave him good cooperation during the first two editions.
As part of preparations toward organising a hitch-free competition, Nesiama said that a crucial meeting with heads of security agencies in the state was held on Jan. 16.
“The crucial meeting was held to fine-tune strategies for protecting participants at the event,” he said.
Nesiama is a renowned security expert for major sporting events and has managed security at various Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN’s) competitions from 2009 to 2017.
He was a one-time deputy director of Naval Intelligence and a counter-terrorism fellow of the George C Marshall Centre for Security Studies in Germany.
Apart from security, Nesiama is the only Nigerian certified and licensed International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) athletes’ manager.
He is an IAAF lecturer and a CAA International Technical official. He is also a member of the CAA Technical and Competitions Commission and a one-time technical director of Athletics Federal of Nigeria (AFN)