By Angela Atabo
Stakeholders at a national summit on mass atrocities have called on governments at all levels to examine technological and policy innovations to monitor, prevent, and mitigate mass atrocities and improve security.
The stakeholders made the call during the 2024 National Summit on Mass Atrocities with the theme “A Standing Responsibility to Protect’’ organised by Global Rights and its partners “Community of Practice against Mass Atrocities’’.
The two-day summit held in Abuja was aimed at addressing the causes and challenges poised by the various forms of mass atrocities in Nigeria .
The Executive Director of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu, said the call to explore ways of combating mass atrocities was imperative in order to address its causes because it was currently giving the nation a bad name.
According to Baiyewu, Nigeria currently ranks 147 out of 163 countries in the 2024 Global Peace Index making insecurity an unrelenting front burner issue which continues to challenge the boundaries of governance.
“The gravity of our situation is further underscored by our data, which reveals that in the past five years alone, at least 24,816 people have been killed, and at least 15,597 have been kidnapped in incidents of mass atrocities across Nigeria .
Baiyewu said that the abducted and the dead were not the only casualties of endemic insecurity, there were over 3.4 million internally displaced people within Nigeria , and about 100,000 refugees in neighboring countries.
“ In 2023 alone, at least 457,000 people were displaced across Nigeria, with insecurity accounting for 291,000 of these displacements nearly double the 148,000 recorded in 2022.’’
“To understand how we got here and how we can find our way back to becoming prosperous where peace and justice reigns, we must examine the underpinning governance failures that have accelerated our decline.
“These include the weaponisation of sexual violence, a lack of access to education, food insecurity, energy poverty, mineral-linked conflicts, and the pervasive culture of impunity that allows these atrocities to persist,’’she said
Baiyewu said that farmers were unable to tend their fields, worsening the already critical food insecurity while parents fear sending their children to school due to rampant abductions, threatening to swell the ranks of the 20 million children who are already out of school.
Baiyewu called for the need to embrace the global commitment to cement the paradigm shift in the thinking of states and of international organisations, to focus more on the security of citizens within a state rather than the protection of the “state” itself.
Mr Ken Henshaw, Chair, Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities,in his presentation titled,“Dynamics of Mass atrocities in Nigeria’’ said that mass killings has extended to every part of the country.
Henshaw said these were in forms of mass kidnapping, mass killings, mass graves among others.
He said that gangs were prevalent in the South South, insurgency in the South East, robberies and kidnapping in the South West, while banditry, farmer and herder crisis were in the North Central.
He added that the worst states to live in due to the rate of deaths and insurgency in Nigeria included Plateau at number one followed by Benue, then Kaduna and finally Zamfara.
“The fact is that atrocious killings have become so routine that they no longer shock. To a large extent, these killings have become part of the new ‘normal’ in Nigeria. This should not be the case,”he said
Dr Tony Ojukwu, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission,in his keynote address titled“The Responsibility to Protect: A Human Security Imperative” said Nigeria has made notable strides in addressing various human security issues.
Ojukwu said that these included efforts to improve governance, enhance economic development, and provide humanitarian aid.
“However, significant challenges remain, including ongoing conflicts, economic disparities, weak governance and accountability architectures and environmental vulnerabilities.
“The landscape of human security in Nigeria is complex, shaped by both progress and persistent issues. The need for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to addressing these challenges is more urgent than ever.
“The future of human security in Nigeria depends on achieving sustainable stability that addresses both immediate and long-term needs in social and human development.
“This requires a holistic approach that integrates security, development, and human rights considerations into national and local strategies. Investing in education, healthcare, and economic opportunities will contribute to a more secure and prosperous future for all Nigerians.’’
(NAN)