Experts validate toolkits to combat ethnic stereotyping in Nigeria

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The Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Joseph Ochogwu, has described the Anti-Ethnic Stereotyping and Profiling Toolkits for Media and Security as strategic to rescuing Nigeria from threats to peace, stability, and progress.

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Ochogwu stated this on Wednesday at the expert validation meeting on the Anti-Ethnic Stereotyping and Profiling Toolkits for Security and Media Reporting, held at the IPCR headquarters in Abuja.

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Represented by Gerald Okafor, Director of Internal Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Ochogwu said, “Our gathering today for the validation of the Anti-Ethnic Stereotyping and Profiling Toolkits is not only necessary but also strategic in rescuing our dear nation from threats to peace, security, stability, and progress,” he said.

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The IPCR DG, whose agency serves as the apex peace institution of the Federal Government, described the initiative as a significant stride in strengthening peace, security, and responsible communication in Nigeria.

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He commended Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited and the WhiteInk Institute for Strategy Education and Research for what he called their “vision, commitment, and relentless efforts” that produced the toolkits.

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Also speaking, Brigadier General Saleh Bala (retd), President and Founder of WISER, said the toolkits were designed to address a problem that had gone largely unnoticed in Nigeria’s security and information environment.

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“The language, narratives, and labels used in reporting and communication can have far-reaching consequences. They can either foster understanding, inclusion, and peace, or inadvertently reinforce stereotypes, encourage ethnic profiling, deepen divisions, and fuel mistrust among communities,” he said.

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Bala warned that Nigeria’s diversity, while a strength, demanded heightened responsibility in how security, conflict, ethnicity, and religion were reported and communicated, adding that the challenge had extended beyond traditional media to social media platforms “where stereotypes and ethnic profiling can spread rapidly, shape perceptions, and affect relationships among individuals and communities.”

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In his overview of the toolkit development process, the Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, Kabiru Adamu, said the project was founded on the recognition that language is not merely descriptive but a constructive force.

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He stressed that words used in crime communication by security institutions, policymakers, and media organisations had the potential to shape public perceptions, influence policy responses, affect intelligence gathering, and can either mitigate or exacerbate social tensions and conflict dynamics.

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The validation meeting brought together representatives of security agencies, the armed forces, intelligence institutions, media professionals, academics, civil society organisations, policymakers, and development partners to review and strengthen the two toolkits before their formal launch and dissemination.

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