Experts Produce Policy Tools To Improve Security Communication

Security experts who participated in the just-concluded two-day high-level conference in Abuja have developed two policy tools.

The tools are to serve as practical guides for improving security communication and strengthening national cohesion.

This is contained in a statement jointly issued in Abuja yesterday by Brig-Gen. Saleh Bala (rtd) and Dr Kabir Adamu.

Bala is the founder and president of Whiteink Institute for Strategy Education and Research (WISER) while Adamu is the managing director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited (BSIL).

The conference aimed to address ethnic profiling and stereotyping in security discourse and operations across West Africa.

Speaking on the key outcome of the conference, Adamu said the two major policy tools were developed for relevant institutions to use as non-stigmatising and operationally effective language.

“We are producing an anti-ethnic stereotyping and profiling toolkit and a national policy brief. These documents will provide clear guidance for security agencies, the media and policymakers on the use of non-stigmatising and operationally effective language,” Adamu said.

He described the conference as a critical step towards building a more inclusive approach to security in Nigeria and the wider West African region.

“By addressing the issue of harmful labelling, we are laying the foundation for a more inclusive, proactive, and people-centred security framework,” he said.

Bala also called on governments, regional bodies, and stakeholders to support the implementation of the conference’s outcomes.

“We urge the federal government, state governments, ECOWAS, civil society organisations and development partners to take ownership of these recommendations and extend them across subnational levels, especially as we approach the 2027 elections,” he said.

He said the finalised toolkit and policy brief would be submitted to relevant institutions to serve as practical guides for improving security communication and strengthening national cohesion.

“Our goal is to ensure that these tools are not just documents, but living frameworks that guide how we communicate, how we act, and how we build trust across communities,” he added.

The conference brought together security experts, policymakers, civil society organisations, media practitioners, and members of the diplomatic community to examine the risks posed by the misuse of language in security and public communication.