The International Organisation for Migration  Programme Manager in Nigeria, Jean Nahesi Kutumbakama, on Tuesday, urged the media to be part of the current efforts aimed at  resolving security challenges in Katsina State.

Kutumbakama made the appeal in an interview with Arewa PUNCH in Katsina at the sideline of a two-day capacity training for practising journalists in the state.

Essentially, the training was hinged on how transitional justice system strategy could be used to end the current insecurity in the state .

The IOM project manager who rightly noted its enormous  power and influence stressed that the  media had the power to build and destroy any community.

Therefore, he appealed to journalists to use their various media outlets positively in highlighting reports that will assist in ending the security challenges in the state.

Kutumbakama declared, “Wnat we need in Katsina now is peace. The media has the powers to either build or destroy. That is why I am appealing to you to use your media power to hiģhlight news reports, features, interviews, editorials and opinions that will help in accelerating the current efforts being made to end insecurity in Katsina State.

“We need the peace here in Katsina State.

“To do this, everybody must be involved, including you, the media managers. Without your support and cooperation, nobody will hear or see what we are doing, and our efforts would be in vain.

“So, I appeal to you to also contribute your quota in bringing the peace back here through the powerful influences of your media.”

A resource person at the occasion, Professor Sulaiman Kura, in his presentation, revealed that another Non-governmental Organisation known as the Centre for Democracy and Development recently  conducted a research in the state which showed that the state needs to adopt “the transitional justice system” as part of its strategies to tackle banditry and restore the peace to the state.

Kura explained further that the transitional justice system allows for full participation of residents of various communities in the state to contribute in the dialogue on how peace should be restored to the state.

Citing the examples of Rwanda and Sierria Leone where he said transitional justice system approach was adopted in restoring the peace, Kura stressed that the system could also be used in the state.

He admitted that though the transitional justice system is still not formalised in Katsina State, but urged that it urgently needs to.

“Residents in each community needs to be involved in the various dialogue to end insecurity in the state,” Kura insisted.

“Victims should be identified for  compesation and perpetrators of human rights abuses should be identified and brought to book. There should be rooms for forgiveness, reconciliation and rehabilitation, so that Katsina can move forward,” he maintained.

However, to achieve this, the don pointed out that “it requires the contribution of everybody.”

The CDD, according to him, has initiated various dialogues with residents in some local government areas in the state especially those with cases of bandits’attacks, among which were Kankara, Faskari, Jibia and Batsari.

Culled from Vanguard