By: AUSTINE AGBO Emmanuel, Kaduna
As peace remains the panacea for sustainable growth and development across the world, A non governmental organization (NGO) under the auspices of Global Peace Development, has partnered security agencies, traditional and religious leaders to mitigate violent conflict in Kaduna State.
The security meeting held in Kaduna yesterday, centred on the need to take proactive measures using the early warning signals as tool to avoid escalation of crisis from the early stage.
In his remarks, the Executive Director, GPD, Mr. Esike Ebruke, said the programme is a multi-layer and multi-stakeholder engagement because there are lots of security agencies from all stratas of Nigerian formal security to rob minds together in other to find lasting peace in communities where crisis is prevalent.
Esike disclosed that the NGO through field statistics have identified four communities in Jem’a and Chikun Local Government Area, where insecurity that cuts across different elements of drug usage, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminality is persistent.
He said that the project commenced in February and have been able to do a formal research to be able to understand the dynamics of the conflict and what strategy is more important to address the conflict in the state, stressing that the NGO have been able to bridge the gap particularly in the planning process where the Kaduna state commission is actively involved in nominating and selecting communities that should be engaged.
Speaking with Journalists shortly after the event, the Deputy Commander in charge of Narcotics, Kaduna State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) Dechi Elisha David, disclosed that they have been up and doing to reduce the supply and demand of drugs in Kaduna state.
Elisha revealed that prosecuting offenders will discourage people from indulging into business with impunity, hence the agency would ensure that drug peddlers are prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
He further reiterated that NDLEA in Kaduna state command is doing their best to ensure that they share what they know about the dangers that are inherent in drug abuse, stressing that they now have war against drug abuse and trying to share the good news in every nook and cranny so that everyone can partner to make sure the menace of drugs in the society society is curtailed to the barest minimum.
In the same vein, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command (ACP) Abdulkadir Yahaya urged citizens and other relevant stakeholders in the community to put their heads together and tackle the insecurity challenges in their respective communities.
Abdulkadir said fighting crime is all encompassing, noting that the Kaduna state police command is partnering with Global Peace and International Alert, in line with community policing in fighting and solving criminal activities even as peace is a collective efforts.
He said, “The Global peace and International Alert are non governmental organizations (NGOs) that are partnering with police which is in line with community policing and like you all know community policing is a strategic policing in fighting and solving criminal activities in bringing peace to the community.
“All hands must be on deck. One cannot do it in isolation by the time one or two persons come together a problem that supposed to be solved within a week can be solved within three days. Solving crisis is all encompasses. It requires money, wisdom, and operation.” He said.
