Experts Outline Strategies To Curb Rising Violence In Nigeria

Experts have challenged stakeholders to adopt faster response to conflict warnings to curb the rising violence in Nigeria

They warned that avoidable deaths and rising criminality will persist in Nigeria unless early warning systems are backed by faster and coordinated response.

The warning was issued in Kaduna at a workshop on strengthening and capacity building of conflict early warning and early response, organised by the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRING) programme in collaboration with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), with support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The participants were drawn from security agencies, civil society organisations, and government institutions to improve coordination and ensure that conflict indicators reported at the community level are acted upon before they escalate into violence.

At the event, the lead consultant with Dev Consult Development Services, Steve Agbo, said the initiative focused on strengthening the capacity of a multi-stakeholder early warning response group in Kaduna State.

He explained that the project was funded by the Federal Commonwealth Development Office and implemented by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution in collaboration with the Country Research Network West Africa.

Agbo said, “Nigeria’s conflict landscape has become more complex due to climate change, competition over land and water, and other socio-economic pressures, requiring response agencies to better understand emerging patterns and dynamics.”

He identified delayed response rather than absence of information as the major weakness of existing early warning systems.

According to Agbo, “strengthening the multi stakeholder response group would help integrate community level actors, including vigilantes, transport unions and local security groups, into a coordinated framework capable of preventing escalation”

The facilitator for the Strategic Peace Resilience Initiative in Nigeria Programme, Acholonu Chidozie, said the outfit is strengthening the use of technology and collaboration in conflict prevention.

Chidozie explained that the initiative is revitalising the early warning situation room at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, allowing information from communities to be received through mobile communication platforms and transmitted to relevant security agencies.

He said the response framework links the Institute with agencies such as the Department of State Services (DSS), the police and the civil defence, enabling faster and more coordinated action.