BY JULIET EKWENUGO
Kaduna
The Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC), Kaduna, has called for urgent dialogue and proactive measures to address escalating security challenges across the country, warning that delayed action could worsen tensions in vulnerable communities.
The Centre, through its Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) desk, raised concern over a series of emerging and persistent security threats identified in its latest monitoring reports.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Centre’s director of the EWER system, Michael Ikpa, expressed concern over ongoing communal clashes in parts of the country, warning that failure to act decisively could further aggravate tensions in already fragile communities.
The Centre noted that the prolonged nature of such conflicts poses a serious risk of escalation, stressing the need for urgent and neutral mediation to restore peace and prevent further breakdown of law and order.
IMC also expressed concern over the resurgence of xenophobic attacks in South Africa, describing the incidents as unacceptable and capable of undermining regional stability, human dignity and international cooperation.
Centre decried the rising cases of kidnapping across several states, particularly in northern Nigeria, describing the trend as a major threat to education, livelihoods and national development.
It called for improved intelligence gathering, stronger community-based security structures and faster response by security agencies.
The Centre further raised alarm over increasing political tensions, including rising hate speech and political defections, warning that such developments could deepen divisions and heighten the risk of violence as political activities intensify.
The Centre urged political actors to embrace issue-based engagement and avoid inflammatory rhetoric.
IMC however, condemned the vandalism and theft of armoured cables from transformers, describing the act as economic sabotage that disrupts power supply and worsens living conditions in affected communities.
