An International peace-building and conflict transformative organization, Search for Common Ground, SFCG, has urged stakeholders in Benue to pay serious attention to early warning signs to enable them mitigate violent conflicts among the people in the state.
Project Manager, SFCG, Chorbe Joshua, gave this advice at the commencement of a 4-day training it organized for Civil Society Organizations, CSO, media actors and relevant stakeholders on “Human Rights Monitoring and Reporting” in Makurdi.
The Next Edition reports that Search is implementing a 24-month project titled “United in Security: A Collaborative Approach to Civilian Protection in Nigeria” in three local government areas of Benue; Makurdi, Guma and Otukpo.
The aim is to strengthen the capacity of target CSOs, media and community stakeholders to advance evidence-based human tights monitoring, reporting and construction advocacy and to foster collaboration around increased accountability between target security forces, government authorities civil society actors and local community to reduce human rights violence.
Chorbe said community members should, after observation, report cases of sudden demographic changes and population displacements, destruction or desecration of religious sites, discrimination or legislation favouring one group over another, government clamp-downs.
READ ALSO: APC Leadership: Adamu Emerges Chair As Govs Defy Buhari On Key NWC Posts
Other early warning signs that must also be reported include rise in societal intolerance and prejudice, increase in numbers of demonstrations or rallies, influx of refugees, unusual movement of people in and out of a community, increase in the use of hard drugs and other illicit substances amongst the youth, destruction of social amenities, economic interests, and communication technology equipment by aggrieved groups, increased number of thugs, militias, vigilante, private security groups among others.
He said taking decisions and actions against these signs will curtail the many communal clashes and ensure peaceful coexistence in the Benue communities
Benue State commissioner for Information Michael Inalegwu called on stakeholders in the peace- building Industry to work towards achieving lasting peace in the State.
Mr. Inalegwu who lamented the spate of communal and external conflicts in some part of the state described the workshop as timely and strategic in addressing salient issues that could bring lasting peace in Benue.
The Ter Makurdi, Chief Vincent Aule, represented by Kindred head of Wurukum, Chief Simon Ugondu-Tov lauded the initiative appealing to the organisers to hold an advocacy that would specifically target traditional rulers in handling peace deals.
