By Comfort Nkong
The need to present a common front in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism has been emphasized.National security adviser Nuhu Ribadu made the call in his forward to the new brochure released by. The UNODC titled, “Supporting Nigeria in Its Struggle Against Terrorism”.
In a release made available to our correspondent, the UNODC says as National Security Advisors, Ministers of Defense and other senior government officials engaged in the global fight against terrorism gathered in Abuja on the invitation of the Government of President Bola A. Tinubu, UNODC reflects on its own decade-long partnership with the Government of Nigeria in the struggle against terrorism via the brochure.
According to them, “the brochure provides a comprehensive overview of the key results achieved by the Nigerian Government and in particular, its security and criminal justice institutions in the context of this cooperation”.
“For more than a decade, Boko Haram has subjected civilians in northeast Nigeria to a wide range of indiscriminate terrorist tactics and posed a serious threat to regional stability – with many lives lost, families devastated, and livelihoods destroyed. This has posed unique challenges to Nigeria’s law enforcement and security agencies, requiring the adoption of new strategies and tactics to protect the population from terrorist violence and bring the perpetrators of terrorist crimes to justice”.
“Against this backdrop, UNODC has been providing tailored technical assistance to Nigeria since 2012 to prevent and counter the threats of terrorism and violent extremism”.
They further said the UNODC’s new brochure showcases the breadth of its counter-terrorism work in Nigeria – from training criminal justice and security agencies to undertake rule-of-law based and human-rights-compliant investigations and prosecutions; and providing technical assistance to policymakers on counter-terrorism legislation and national strategies; to working with local civil society partners to prevent and counter violent extremism.
In his foreword, the National Security Adviser, His Excellency Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, outlined the role UNODC has played so far in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
“Our trusted partnership with UNODC, which has matured and deepened for more than a decade, is a testament to the importance of collaboration. Together, we are ensuring the long-term resilience and effectiveness of our criminal justice and security agencies”.
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