Civil Society Organizations and other critical stakeholders in the South-East have urged the Federal Government to prioritize a non-kinetic approach to complement efforts in addressing separatist agitations in the geopolitical zone.
This call was made during a one-day dialogue tagged “Building trust and enhancing civil-military relations in Nigeria’s Southeast geopolitical zone,” held in Enugu.
The dialogue was organized by the Security, Violence, and Conflict Research Group (SVCRG), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
Participants at the event also called on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu from detention to consolidate recent gains in restoring peace and security in the Southeast.
The Coordinator of SVCRG, Professor Freedom Onuoha stated that the demand for Kanu’s release was based on research findings conducted by the group on the root causes of insecurity and separatist agitations in the region.
He said: “SVCRG conducted research on countering violent separatism and criminality in the Southeast. We found that using non-military measures, including the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, would foster peace and security in the region.
“The separatist agitation is being sustained because some locals perceive Kanu’s continued detention as unjust.
“To achieve sustainable peace, the concerns raised by these locals must be addressed by the Federal Government.”
Onuoha added: “The Federal Government has tried military interventions for years, but these have failed to extinguish the flames of violent separatism.
“We recommend critical and strategic dialogue with agitators, which should include the release of Nnamdi Kanu and some form of concessions.”
He further urged South-East governors to sincerely engage with the Federal Government in pursuing a political solution that would secure Kanu’s release and stem the tide of insecurity in the region.
Similarly, the Country Director of USIP, Professor Chris Kwaja called for strategic dialogue between the military and agitators to improve civil-military relations in the Southeast.
Represented by Terfa Hemen, a USIP Program Officer, Kwaja also urged Southeast governors to heed the people’s demands by constructively engaging the Federal Government to adopt political solutions to the crisis in the region.
In his presentation, the Director of the Institute for Peace, Security, and Development Studies at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Professor Chukwuemeka Nwanegbo, attributed the rise in separatist agitations to governance failures in the Southeast.
Nwanegbo further noted that the Federal Government’s reliance on military solutions turned the agitations into a violent movement.
He stressed that the government should have integrated the freedom fighters into the peace-building process to achieve sustainable security in the region.