Boko Haram: Nigerian Government Set Up Technical Committee on Deradicalisation

The Federal Government of Nigeria has constituted a technical committee in its bid to end violent extremism, crimes and other security challenges bedeviling the country.

This was contained in a statement issued by Abu Michael, the Media Assistant to the Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, in Abuja on Monday.

Michael, in the statement, said the technical committee would help find solutions to violent activities in different categories of insurgency, militancy, cultism, kidnapping, among other aberrant characters.

He said the technical committee would further enhance the commitment of the Federal Government against violence, in addition to the military campaigns against various armed groups in the country.

The official said the committee, under the chairmanship of the Director-General of IPCR, Prof. Oshita Oshita, had initiated events that will culminate into a “national workshop on radicalisation, de-radicalisation and counter-radicalisation”.

He quoted Oshita as saying at the inauguration of the meeting that the workshop would attract scholars, security and peace experts.

According to him, the national discourse will help generate the intelligence and other elements for the government to lean on in combating violent activities and other related issues.

“The D-G notes that Nigeria needs social re-engineering and that the country will have to regularly engage strategic communication in dealing with our political and socio-economic challenges,” he said.

The committee comprises representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, military, security, education and civil society organisations, among others.

The committee stated that violent extremism is in different categories of insurgency, militancy, cultism, kidnapping, among other aberrant characters.

The committee observed the need of expanding its membership to have an all embracing ideas for an elaborate arrangement and planning of the national workshop.

It believed that through the national workshop, sustainable solutions to the nation’s social maladies will be tackled.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)