CISLAC Decries Lack Of Value For Human Lives ,Urges Govt to set up Commission on  Protection of Civilians and Civilian Harm Mitigation in Armed Conflict 

A non governmental organization  Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC is extremely worried about the rising cases involving killings of civilians in Nigeria. The NGO said human lives is valuable and should be protected from wanton death.

CISLAC stated this during a second round training for journalists  titled " Interaction with media  on  Protection of Civilians, PoC, and Civilian Harm Mitigation, CHM in Armed Conflict" held   in Lagos recently supported by the  Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA.

The training which is aimed at engaging Crime and Defence journalists to  report on the need for  protection of civilians PoC legislation for the country,protection of Civilians, PoC, and Civilian Harm Mitigation, CHM.

Auwal Musa Ibrahim (Rafsanjani) the Executive Director  CISLAC while condemning the worsening insecurity in the country said human lives must matter and this  rests on the government to ensure no live is taken arbitrarily.

He condemned the abduction of students and the incessant banditry the country is experiencing. 

He said,”It rests on the government to  deploy official resources  both human and financial intelligence to ensure that we bring an end to this constant and regular abduction of children.

“They’re depriving them of going to school and already we are in crisis. Nigeria has the highest out-of-school children and coupled with all the people that are being displaced by insurgency, by violence in Nigeria, a lot of young people are roaming on the streets, they have become orphans and allowing this people to be kidnapped, abducting these children, disrupting their school is  disrupting their psyche, creating social vices and also helping criminals to recruit them. Secondly, it is also helping criminals that are taking children for rituals. Alot of multiple problems involved in this and that is why Government must make a deliberate effort to ensure that this ends.  Whoever is involved, government must go after these people.

“And again, if government is having shortage of human and intelligence capacity to deal with this, that is why there’s a bilateral with other countries who have similar experiences that have been able to overcome this.

“They should seek for support in order to end this miserable, constant abduction and kidnapping of Nigerians who are already living  miserable life".

 Mr. Salaudeen Hashim Programme Manager for CISLAC said there is no better time to set up a commission for civilian harm mitigation than now instead of focusing on providing relief for victims of humanitarian disaster, government should begin to place premium on human lives. 

"We need to negotiate somehow. If you are not paying cash, then you should be able to offer some level of amnesty that would provide a way , you have respect for  lives in captivity, but not necessarily giving money. We have a ministry in charge of humanitarian disaster management ,why can't we have a commission on civilian harm mitigation during conflict. That way the commission will be responsible in ensuring that lives are not lost because live is precious. 

He added that criminals live among people but protection is needed for informants. 

"Communities are deliberately not volunteering information because of the threat they got,  so they fear the bandits more than they fear security agents.

“Every government intervention has always focused on the urban. Our problems are rural, we need to find rural solution.  I like the position of not paying ransom. Unfortunately, if they are going to negotiate, it is not necessary they are going to negotiate based on paying ransom but there are other tools for negotiation. It might just be something else and that would actually keep the lives of those people who are in captivity going. It is a strategic political approach".