The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has stated that though it acknowledges that pro-Biafra agitation and insurgency are significant contributors to insecurity in the South East, attributing the problem solely to these factors paints an incomplete picture.
Executive director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma disclosed this during the launch of a Special Report on Southeast Insecurity organised by the organisation in partnership with Action Group on Free Civic Space (AGFCS) in Enugu.
Nwanguma maintained that a lasting solution demands acknowledging the intricate web of additional forces fueling the flames of violence.
He disclosed that one of the additional factors fueling the cycle of violence, as documented in the report, is federal government’s single-minded brute force and counterproductive approach to fighting insecurity in the zone.
The RULAAC executive director noted that the report, produced and printed with financial support from Ford Foundation, was intended to drive the true narrative about the nature, roots, patterns, dimensions and the effects of current government’s approach to tackling insecurity in the South East.
He thanked all their partners and all the stakeholders who supported the effort to advance and deepen engagement on insecurity in the South East.
“I do hope that this report will contribute to the effort to unravel the roots, nature, multiple dimensions and consequences of insecurity and the appropriate measures to holistically address insecurity and the attendant human rights violation, particularly, the impact of insecurity on the civic and democratic space.
“The people of the South-East desire and deserve an environment where the people and residents live in peace, safety, freedom and prosperity” he stated
Speaking at the event, chaired by Professor Okey Ibeanu, regional director, West Africa Ford Foundation, which provided financial support for the report, Chichi Aniagolu stated that the Southeast used to be a bastion of peace till insecurity creeped in and changed the situation.
She noted that necessary steps must be taken to address the situation, adding that the foundation sees peace and security as vital for development hence it’s decision to support the report.
Reviewing the report, a Professor Emeritus, Obasi Igwe, regretted that a large number of innocent citizens have lost their lives in the South East zone of the country as a result of insecurity, adding that the killings were perpetrated by both state and non-state actors.
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