ActionAid charges security agencies not to politicise security, emergency issues

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Security Agencies in the country have been urged not to politicise security and emergency issues but treat them with the seriousness they deserve without recourse to sentiments and emotions.

Mr Gbenro Olajuyigbe, Manager, Human Security in Conflict and Emergency of the ActionAid Nigeria made the call at a one-day Security Training for Emergency Stakeholders, Civil Society and the Media on Friday in Lokoja.

The Human Security Manager said security and emergency should be squarely and decisively addressed from the moment early warning signs began to manifest.

“Security is about life and death so we don’t play emotions with it. If a condition is not safe let people know it is not safe, let us not be political about it. Let us not inject the innuendos of our society whether ethnic or religious.

The Human security expert urged security agencies to be fair, focused and determined in their analysis of security situations to project the truth “and nothing but the truth.”

Olajuyigbe however decried the abuse of Early Warning System as agencies never attached responsibility to it saying, “Early Warning System is not about providing information.

“It is a warning about potential disaster that lurks around the corner and more importantly, a call to duty for those saddled with the responsibility to reduce risks and prevent imminent harm.”

The ActionAid Manager identified corruption as the major culprit and catalyst for most known violence saying: “Corruption is a specie of violence, it lays foundation for other violence and ensures that those who perpetrate and prosecute violence are not dealt with.

“As long as you have people that are not getting justice at the level of the poor, danger is at the corner as the victim might turn around to launch attack on the society that denied him justice.”

Acting Executive Director of Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID) Mrs Gift Omoniwa, organisers of the training programme urged the stakeholders to bring the knowledge acquired to bear on their operations.