A visiting research fellow at the International Centre for Policing and Security of the University of South Wales, United Kingdom, Ibrahim Bamidele Kogbe, has declared that it may be difficult for Nigeria to win the war against terrorism and banditry in the absence of rule of law, equality and justice.
Kogbe, who served as an adjunct faculty member of the Public Service Institute of Nigeria from June 2020 to June 2024, made this declaration during an interview with Arogidigba Global Journal on Monday.
He noted that the government must entrench and institutionalise ethical governance based on the rule of law, equality and justice in order to tackle terrorism and banditry.
Kogbe, who described terrorism and banditry as a popular war in which everyone must be involved, said that the war against the menaces must start with the government.
He also suggested that the media must be carried along in order to win the war.
Kogbe said, “To win the war against terrorism and banditry, let the government entrench and institutionalise ethical governance based on the rule of law, equality and justice, and the challenges will drastically reduce.
“It is all about social justice that is beyond the war in the battle field. And also, the government should be more sincere to build public trust.
“They also need to work more with the media as partners. The unnecessary hype of insecurity in the media is unpatriotic and a disservice to the country.
“It is a popular war that requires everyone to participate for our collective security, but it must begin with our government.
“Terrorism is not new. There is no guarantee that it will disappear tomorrow, but with concerted efforts, government’s sincerity and deployment of modern technology in our policing system and increased surveillance, I think the spade will be reduced drastically.”