The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has cautioned Nigerians against ethnic and religious profiling in the fight against insecurity, stressing that criminality has no ethnicity and terrorism has no religion.
Disu gave the warning on Wednesday while delivering his opening address at the North-West Security Summit in Gusau, Zamfara State. He called for an intelligence-led, community-supported and coordinated regional approach to tackling the growing security challenges confronting the region.
The IGP urged stakeholders to concentrate on identifying and dismantling criminal networks and ensuring that their sponsors, arms suppliers, informants and other facilitators are brought to justice, irrespective of their ethnic, religious or social backgrounds.
The three-day summit, hosted by the Zamfara State Government, brought together governors, traditional rulers, security chiefs, experts, development partners, civil society organisations and other key stakeholders to deliberate on banditry, kidnapping, arms proliferation, communal conflicts, farmer-herder tensions and other security threats in the North-West.
According to Disu, no security agency, government or institution can effectively secure the region alone. He therefore called for stronger intelligence sharing, improved inter-state cooperation, coordinated security operations, enhanced border security, community engagement and effective early-warning mechanisms.
He also highlighted the important role of traditional institutions and local communities in providing credible intelligence, detecting threats early and supporting efforts to prevent crime and violence.
The IGP reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to intelligence-led policing, technology-driven operations, rapid response, inter-agency collaboration and stronger partnerships with communities.
Disu charged participants at the summit to ensure that their deliberations produce practical and measurable resolutions that will strengthen security, protect vulnerable communities, disrupt criminal networks and restore public confidence across the North-West region.
