Managing Director of Science Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Minna, Prof. Mohammed Ndaliman, has urged Nigerians to pay tribute to all the security agencies, especially the armed forces that have been making efforts to keep the country peaceful.
Declaring the two-day peace, unity and security colloquium in commemoration of the 2024 Democracy Day, at Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi Conference Centre, Minna, over the weekend, emphasised that “peace is needed for the progress of any society,” adding that Nigeria recently had challenges of peace.
The colloquium, which drew security stakeholders, academics, civil society organisations as well as public commentators, with the theme, ‘Peace Building, Crime Prevention and Security Management in Democratic Setting’ was organised by International Peace Foundation (IPF), a non-governmental organisation volunteering for peace.
Ndaliman added: “Challenges confronting Nigeria are numerous. They include communal clashes, banditry armed robbery and kidnapping. Therefore, we expect that at the end of the colloquium, speakers would have done justice to what we expect, after which we expect subsequent measures to grant us peace and increase the level of unity in the country.”
Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Maj-Gen Abdullahi Mohammed (rtd), stated that crime prevention strategies must go beyond traditional law enforcement approaches to address the root of crime behaviour.
According to him, security measures are necessary to protect individuals and communities, but they must be implemented within the framework of human rights and due process. Any encroachment on civil liberties must be proportionate, necessary, and subject to the law to prevent abuse of power and erosion of democratic values.
Special Adviser to Governor Umaru Bago on Inter-tribal Relations, Judge Dike, who described Niger people as accommodating, pointed out that the people never discriminated against the diverse ethnic groups resident in the state.
Secretary-General of IPF, who doubles as the Coordinator, Political Mobilisation to the Governor, Prof. Casmir Obialom, explained that the colloquium was timely and deserving, noting that it was holding at a critical time the country was continuously threatened by economic crisis and social vices.
