Civil society groups in
the Niger Delta region, have called for caution on the part of the Federal Government over the threat of force to resolve militancy in the region.
Addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt, the groups said that “reactionary violence has never been a sustainable solution to lasting peace anywhere in the world.
The text of the briefing, which was read by Country Director of stakeholders Democratic network (SDN), Inemo Samiama, also appealed to all stakeholders in the crisis to explore Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms to speedily address the conflict.
According to the group “we do recognise and accept that the underlying causes of the militancy in the region have not been addressed.
“Retrogression into the recent past where armed confrontation led to waste of human lives cannot be solution at this time or any other time for that mater.” it said it stressed the need for the convening of a stakeholders meeting involving members of the civil society, community leaders and the state actors including representatives of women and gender experts inline with the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 to discuss the way forward and deploy a sustainable long term approach of peace building and conflict transformation in the Niger Delta that does not merely focus on reducing the symptoms of social restiveness as well as reviewing the strategy of militancy and paramilitary agencies currently going on in most Niger Delta communities in inorder not to further escalate the conflict.
There is an urgent need for multi-governmental security collaboration among the federal, states and local government, as well as the communities in the Niger Delta region for the adoption and implementation of more efficient and effective security blueprint in the region”
It also advised that, the narrative of show of force be tone down while alternative ways of dealing with the conflict explored.
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Militancy: Group CautionsAgainst Use Of Force
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