CISLAC seeks end to rising cases of insecurity in Nigeria

By Familugba Victor

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), on Thursday, called on the Federal government to address the rising cases of banditory, terrorism, kidnappings and ritual killings in the country.

This was disclosed in a statement made available to newsmen, signed by CISLAC's Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, during the official launch of a policy brief in Lagos.

According to Auwal, Nigeria is currently faced with galaxies of conflicts and multi-dimension security threats.

He said this facilitated the call for the Nigerian government and relevant stakeholders to adopt an early warning and response system as tools for mitigating and preventing conflicts as well as protecting citizens from danger.

"You will agree with me that there is no better time to engage relevant government agencies, media, on matters of conflict prediction mechanisms, to raise public and policy consciousness on the emerging threats to the peace, security and territorial integrity of our beloved country," he said.

In the released statement, CISLAC identified alarming issues for the government and relevant stakeholders to tackle to combat rising cases of insecurity in the country.

The statement reads in part, "Porous international borders with unmanned entries and exits are enabling infiltration of undocumented nationals, these pose a significant challenge to resilience building against threats at all levels

"Also, the unattended policy response to root causes of conflict and ethnic profiling of issues has resulted in unwarranted complications and generational agitations that amplify avertable conflict across the country

"One other issue that needs to be look into is unregulated movements of locally-fabricated weapons coupled with poorly controlled illicit ammunition, exacerbate community susceptibility to threats, while hampering their coping capacity"

However, the organization proffered solutions that will put an end to the numerous security challenges disrupting the peace of the country.

According to the organization, to eradicate rising security challenges in the country, there should be a formation of a well-informed and formidable community network with coordinating body to complement intelligence gathering process for accurate information provision on Early Warning signals.

The organization also advocated for massive sensitisation and awareness by relevant agencies, in collaboration with families and communities across secondary and tertiary institutions on drug abuse as a proactive/reactive measure to prevent manifestation of major conflict. 

"The federal government needs to increase policy focus and intervention on conflict sensitivity to address the root causes of conflict and lingering social agitations across the country," the organization stated.