Stakeholders and security experts have outlined practical solutions to address insecurity and ethnic profiling in Nigeria.
The recommendations come as Nigeria continues to grapple with kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and other security threats that have intensified across the country in recent months.
Recent incidents, including bomb attacks and mass abductions, have renewed concerns over the worsening security situation in Africa’s most populous nation. The abduction of school children in Oyo remains a major concern, with the victims still in captivity.
Nigeria has also recorded the loss of at least seven military commanders in recent times, underscoring the severity of the security crisis.
Despite intensified military operations aimed at containing the threats, insecurity continues to persist in several parts of the country.
As part of efforts to address the challenge, security expert Kabiru Adamu and retired Nigerian Army commander Brigadier General Saleh unveiled two national draft toolkits during an event on Wednesday.
The stakeholders explained that the proposed documents, the Anti Ethnic Profiling and Stereotyping Toolkit for Security Communication and a corresponding framework for media communication, are designed to help reduce insecurity and promote national cohesion.
Speaking at the event, Saleh noted that emerging threats such as misinformation, disinformation, artificial intelligence misuse, and online hate speech were incorporated into the national draft.
He stressed that communication has the power to either foster peace or deepen societal divisions.
Kabiru Adamu also urged the Nigerian government and relevant stakeholders to ensure the documents are implemented effectively rather than being abandoned after development.
Similarly, renowned mass communication professor Umaru Pate described the national draft as a strategic intervention that could strengthen cooperation between the media and security institutions while contributing to efforts aimed at tackling insecurity in Nigeria.
