Crisis: IPCR Begins Peace Education Sensitization In Ebonyi

BY NDUBUISI NWOGHA, ABAKALIKI In furtherance to engendering peace in communities of the war torn boundary area of Ebonyi and Cross River states, delegates from the Institute of Peace and Conflicts Resolution on Wednesday begin peace education sensitization programme geared towards rebuilding trust among stakeholders from the crisis area.

This was made known when team from the Institute led by Ladi Achanya paid courtesy visit to the office of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, Ebonyi state command, headquarters, Abakaliki. According to the team leader, Achanya said the essence of the programme is to cement trust already battered by the devastated situation associated with the repeated communal crisis. She said the institute with the mandate on intervention and capacity building would be interacting with non state and state actors in fostering peace in the boundary area. She added that peaceful coexistence among people living within the boundary communities is imperative for overall development of the states, saying that the team had conducted a research at Adadamma/Amagu Ikwo communities that was once bedevilled by the communal war, hence, would continue to intervene until peace fully returned in the boundary communities. Achanya during her presentation explained that their office is not bereft of information of other inter and intra community crisis in the state but would continue to employ all the due measures as to sensitize the stakeholders of the need for peace. Responding, the state commandant NSCDC, Terrumun T. Gbur commended the team for their continuous intervention and pledged the support of the state command to realizing their mandate. The state Commandant described the visit as very apt and revealed that the issue of insecurity in the country needs general support to bring it to a stop. He raised a case at Ikwo LGA where some indigenes of the area kicked against the introduction of Ebubeagu security men in their community which has risen to several attacks in the zone. He noted that for the intervention of combined security agencies a set of unknown gunmen numbering over ten were repelled on strategic planned attack. The visit was witnessed by the Deputy Director of the institute,Andy Nkemnaeme, representative of Ebonyi community, Barr. Prince Pascal Nwenyi and the Cross River state counterpart, Lucky Okpechi among others