Adamawa To Partner NGOs, Religious Bodies In Security Response, Rehabilitation Of IDPs

Jibrilla BindowGovernor Jubrilla Bindow of Adamawa State has disclosed plans to include religious and local non-governmental organisations in a new strategy aimed at improving the management of security response and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons in the state.

The state government recently announced the setting up of a N200m security budget, part of which over N50m will serve as the state’s internal contribution to co-funding counter-insurgency operations, aided by local vigilance groups and intelligence gathering, while about N50m was allocated to managing the internal refugee crisis.
The governor added that his state currently hosted Nigeria’s largest population of IDPs, who were mostly from Borno and Yobe states.
He explained that part of the funds would be directly managed by organisations, which until now, had been helping to provide community-based restoration and rehabilitation of victims of the insurgency, independent of the government.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Monday, Bindow, after a closed door meeting on security with stakeholders in the state, noted that local and religious organisations were closer to the people at the grass roots, making them valuable partners in local security response and post incident recovery.
He said, “The country is facing a guerrilla-style insurgency, which is different from conventional warfare. We are affected; our neighbours are affected too, maybe more than we are.
“It is important that the state adopts a community-based approach to response, both in terms of assisting the military effort, and in rehabilitation. We must also contribute to the intelligence and vigilante effort, because this is our home.
“Our resources may be meagre but we must assist the Federal Government’s effort in eliminating the insurgency”.