1. Advise Preparation Before Any Journey

Before your loved ones travel, ensure they clearly communicate their plans. They should share departure times, routes, expected arrival windows, and stopovers with trusted contacts. Encourage them to enable live location sharing on WhatsApp or similar platforms for the entire journey.

Drivers should ensure their vehicles are roadworthy, fueled adequately, and fitted with tracking devices where possible. A well-prepared journey reduces exposure to unnecessary risks.

2. Encourage Route Intelligence and Situational Awareness

Advise travellers to research their routes before departure. This includes speaking with people who have recently travelled the same road, monitoring credible news sources, and paying attention to local advisories.

Festive traffic often causes diversions and congestion, which criminals exploit. Up-to-date information helps travellers avoid known hotspots and unsafe time windows.

3. Stress the Importance of Low Visibility While Travelling

Advise your loved ones to avoid displaying valuables or drawing attention to themselves while on the road. Frequent stops, roadside trading, or unnecessary conversations increase exposure to informants who relay information to criminal groups ahead.

Encourage them to:

• Limit stops to secure, familiar locations

• Keep valuables out of sight

• Maintain focus and momentum during travel

Discretion remains one of the strongest forms of personal security.

4. Prepare Them Mentally for Threat Indicators

Mental preparedness can prevent fatal mistakes. Travellers should be briefed on common tactics used during ambushes and kidnappings.

Advise them not to stop for:

• Animals deliberately placed on the road

• Makeshift checkpoints in unusual or isolated locations

• Requests that feel rushed, aggressive, or inconsistent with normal law enforcement behaviour

Drivers should be encouraged to trust their instincts. If something feels wrong, continuing to a safer, populated area is often the better decision.

5. Recommend Group Travel and Convoys Where Possible

Advise travellers to move in groups or convoys, especially for long-distance or inter-state journeys. Vehicles travelling together are significantly less likely to be targeted.

For families, corporate travel, or high-risk routes, convoy movement should be treated as a safety standard rather than an option.

6. Consider Professional Private Security Support

Where possible, advise the use of reputable private security escorts, particularly during festive periods when risk levels increase. Professional security teams provide route intelligence, advance assessments, and emergency response capabilities that individual travellers cannot.

Trusted private security firms like Laser Security offer discreet, professional travel protection and insights that significantly reduce exposure to threats.

7. What to Do in the Worst-Case Scenario: Kidnapping

While no one hopes for it, preparedness for the worst can save lives.

If a kidnapping occurs:

• Remain calm and avoid sudden movements or resistance

• Comply with instructions and avoid confrontation

• Observe details quietly without drawing attention to yourself

• Preserve physical and mental strength and follow survival guidance

For families and contacts:

• Do not rush to publicize the incident

• Avoid unverified intermediaries

• Engage professional security consultants immediately

• Allow trained experts to manage communication, intelligence, and response strategies

Uncoordinated actions often worsen outcomes. Professional handling improves safety and resolution.

Final Advisory

Keeping loved ones safe during the festive season in Nigeria is not about fear or panic. It is about foresight, discipline, and informed choices. Encourage preparation, awareness, and the use of professional security support where needed.

Laser Security remains committed to helping individuals, families, and organisations navigate festive travel safely through expert security advisory, private escorts, and emergency response support across Nigeria.