IPCR Calls for Urgent National Peace Policy in Nigeria

Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, the director of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), has called for the urgent adoption and implementation of a national peace policy in Nigeria. Speaking at the second high-level expert dialogue on the draft national peace policy in Abuja, he warned that the country's worsening security challenges require a coordinated and institutionalized response.

Ochogwu highlighted that Nigeria is at a crossroads, facing persistent insecurity, including insurgency in the northeast, farmer-herder clashes in the north-central, separatist tensions in the southeast, and widespread banditry and kidnapping in the northwest. He proposed a national peace policy designed to address gaps in Nigeria's peacebuilding efforts, lamenting the absence of a unified framework that harmonizes interventions from government agencies and civil society organizations.

He stressed the importance of evidence-based decision-making and the need for a coordinated approach to peacebuilding across various sectors. Ochogwu urged stakeholders to take ownership of the dialogue process and warned against bureaucratic delays that could hinder the establishment of a credible national peace policy.