Stakeholders in peace and conflict resolution in the Niger Delta have called for a community-centred approach to addressing criminality and violence in the region.

At a high-level meeting on the dissemination of findings of the Baseline Study for the European Union, (EU) funded, “A Community Centred Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta Project,” yesterday, in About, they said peace in Nigeria’s oil-rich region remains critical to national development.

Country Director of Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Fatima Abubakar, said that the European Union (EU) funded project is concerned with the remote and immediate causes of violence in the Niger Delta, and the best approach to bring lasting peace to the region. She said: “Central to our findings is the recognition of the pivotal role played by community actors in shaping the peace and security landscape.

“While ineffective leadership and heavy-handed security measures have sown seeds of discord, accountable governance and collaborative efforts between security forces and communities have emerged as beacons of hope.”

Abubakar explained that the project’s baseline study delved into the intricate web of social, political, environmental and economic dynamics underlying violence and criminality in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states. 

He said: “It sought not only to unravel the root causes of these challenges but also to illuminate the aspirations and needs of community members, particularly our young women and men, whose voices are integral to shaping the trajectory of our interventions.”