Community policing ‘can end’ suicide bombing

Olusayo Olatokun, director of Eko Civil Rights Movement, says community policing can end suicide bombing.

Suicide attacks have been the greatest setback to the war against insurgency in the north-east.

But Olatokun appealed to stakeholders to show more commitment and also asked security agencies to improve collaboration.

He said community leaders have a role to play in checking “suicide missions by fleeing elements of Boko Haram”.

“The Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and community leaders at all levels must now face it as part of their sacred mandate that they must halt the incessant cases of suicide bombings which fleeing Boko Haram members  intend  to use as their last resort after their defeat by the military,” he said at a rally in Lagos on Thursday.

“Our suggestion is for the organisations to work together in conjunction with the military to adopt this approach which is one of the proactive collaborations between military in terms of providing intelligence.

This has kept the south-west of the country free from insurgency.”

Commenting on the favourable rating of Nigeria on the Global Terrorism Index commissioned by the Institute for Economics and Peace, Olatokun said the military deserved commendation.

The institute had said Nigeria was responsible for a significant reduction in terror-related deaths globally.

Olatokun said the report has shown that President Muhammadu Buhari’s counter terrorism approach had yielded success.

“The Institute for Peace has restored our hope with the release of its Global Terrorism Index 2017 which has reaffirmed our faith that terrorism can be defeated by showing that deaths from Boko Haram are on the decline,” he said.

“We see the Global Terrorism Index as a report to celebrate because it is important to fully appraise the efforts that have gone into achieving such reduction in the casualty rate occasioned  by Boko Haram activities.”