The Committee for Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), Ekiti State government, and other stakeholders in the South West have suggested the integration of traditional rulers and religious leaders into the regional peace and security architecture as first responders in conflict mediation.
This was stated in the Communiqué from the Southwest Strategic Conference on Human Rights, Counter-Terrorism, and Sustainable Development held over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, and made available to journalists on Monday by Comrade Yinka Folarin, National President of CDHR.
The conference resolved to strengthen community-security collaboration efforts. Partnerships between security agencies and local communities through community policing, intelligence sharing, and regular town hall engagements should be prioritised.
Security agencies were urged to adopt human rights-compliant approaches in all operations and that conventional security agencies should also collaborate effectively with local security outfits, especially in forest areas where they face operational challenges.
The Southwest Strategic Conference on Human Rights, Counter-Terrorism, and Sustainable Development was convened by CDHR to address the interconnected challenges of insecurity, human rights protection, and sustainable development in the Southwest region, comprising Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, and Ekiti States.
The conference was hosted by Comrade Yinka Folarin, the National President of CDHR, while Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State served as the chief host.
The conference was themed “Together Against Terrorism (TAT).” It brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, market women, farmers’ associations, student union bodies, academics, community leaders, ethnic groups, and several others.
In its recommendation, the conference admonished that all counter-terrorism and anti-crime measures must be lawful, proportionate, and accountable. “Arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial actions were strongly condemned. Independent oversight mechanisms should be empowered to investigate complaints against security operatives. Furthermore, casualties and collateral damage during security operations should be minimised.
“The conference called on the Federal, State, and Local Governments to consider traditional institutions as critical partners in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and that such institutions should be empowered.
“Traditional rulers and religious leaders should be formally integrated into regional peace and security architecture as first responders in conflict mediation, de-radicalization, and community sensitization.
“Traditional institutions should establish networks for intelligence gathering to support security agencies.
“Governments at the federal, state, and local levels were called upon to prioritize job creation, skills acquisition, and entrepreneurship programs targeting youths and women in order to reduce the socio-economic drivers of insecurity.
“Special attention should be given to the protection of women, children, students, market traders, and farmers who are often the most affected by insecurity. Safe school initiatives and market security programmes should be strengthened. Adequate security should also be provided to farmers to reduce farmer-herder clashes, which often result in reprisal attacks.
“The conference charged CSOs, the media, and educational institutions to intensify civic education on human rights, peacebuilding, and the dangers of violent extremism across schools, markets, and communities.
“The conference recommended the establishment of a Southwest Human Rights and Security Stakeholders Forum to ensure continuous dialogue, monitoring, and implementation of resolutions across the six Southwest states, and the extension of similar strategic conferences on counter-terrorism to other geopolitical zones of the country.
The conference called on the Federal and State Governments, the National Assembly, security chiefs, and development partners to give urgent consideration to the resolutions contained herein.
Participants urged citizens to reject violence, uphold the rule of law, and actively participate in building a peaceful, secure and prosperous Southwest region.
They affirmed collective commitment to defending human rights, combating terrorism through lawful means, and advancing sustainable development for present and future generations in the Southwest and Nigeria at large.
The guest speakers were Dr. Michael Femi Sodipo, Executive Director of Peace Initiative Network, and Dr. Abayomi Anthony Adebayo, Head of the Department of Gender Development and Social Work, Federal University Oye-Ekiti.
Also in attendance were delegates from the Nigeria Police Force, Ekiti State Command; officers of the Nigerian Army from the 148 Battalion led by Captain Y. Kalifa; the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Hon. Justice Lekan Ogunmoye; the Attorney General of Ekiti State; among others.
