By Innocent Odoh A policy brief on the “Existing and Emerging Security Threats in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been unveiled.
A statement issued by the media assistant to the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) Michael Abu made available to our correspondent on Monday noted that the official public presentation of the brief took place at the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) Conference Hall, Abuja.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Idris Ibrahim who was represented by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abduyari S. Lafia commended the IPCR, which spared headed the draft, the statement said.
The document was the work of members of the Peace and Security Forum (PSF) made up of the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the military, the police, other security agencies and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) among other critical stakeholders.
The IGP expressed regret that the country has been reactionary in her approaches to security matters pointing out that Nigeria ought to be proactive to successfully entrench a peaceful atmosphere for rapid socioeconomic development.
According to him, IPCR has become very relevant especially now that appropriate researches such as the ones that culminated into the policy brief would help Nigerians understand better the dynamics of violent conflicts in the country for proactive measures to forestall them.
In the same vein, the Commissioner of Police, FCT, Alkali Usman who also was represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ali Daniel Gambal said the document would serve as template for the operations of the police and other security operatives in FCT in dealing with the challenges of insecurity, the statement added.
He mentioned that the document would be beneficial not only for the FCT but for other states of the federation hence it was the collective work of the military, police, other security outfits and critical stakeholders. He said the work of policing ought to be seen as a collective one towards enhancing the synergy needed to thwart any threat in our society.
Earlier, the Chairman of the PSF who is the Director General of IPCR, Professor Oshita O. Oshita in his opening remarks disclosed that the present IGP first initiated the idea for the study of the security situation of the FCT at one of the bi-monthly meetings of the PSF early this year.
Professor Oshita noted that the unveiling ceremony was to bring to the open public the policy brief which would be handy for policy-makers and the people especially in Abuja in tackling crime and all other problems of security.
He thanked the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) for the support given to the PSF for the production of the document.
The representative of the office of the NSA, A. K. Abdulkadir commended professor Oshita for his devotion to the issue of peace in the country and noted that the document has shown the security consciousness of every Nigerian.
