Abuja: The Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience, OSPRE, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Operation Safe Corridor Nigeria, OPSC, reinforcing their mutual commitment to fostering sustainable peace and strengthening national security through non-kinetic strategies. The MoU was signed by the Director General of OSPRE, Mr. Chris Ngwodo, and the Coordinator of OPSC, Brigadier General Yusuf Ali, in Abuja.
According to Voice of Nigeria, the partnership seeks to standardise and harmonise methodologies in the management of demobilisation, disarmament, deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of irregular combatants, as well as post-conflict recovery in communities affected by conflict. It aims to deepen collaboration, particularly in enhancing peacebuilding and security institutions through capacity development and evidence-based research.
The MoU also has its central theme hinged on promoting victim-centred principles, encompassing transitional justice, as well as restorative justice, and trauma recovery. Brigadier General Yusuf Ali emphasized that the initiative was a holistic approach, whereby all key stakeholders collaborate with OPSC to realise the shared goals. He expressed hope that the signing would mark a significant advancement in efforts to combat insecurity and foster enduring peace across Nigeria.
Mr. Ngwodo, Director General of OSPRE, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, highlighting the necessity of evolving tools to address asymmetrical conflicts. He underscored the importance of developing non-kinetic instruments to tackle the unique challenges Nigeria faces, noting that conventional warfare would not be deployed in the initiative.
Operation Safe Corridor Nigeria, OPSC, is the Federal Government’s flagship multi-agency initiative focused on non-kinetic operations, established in 2016. Similarly, OSPRE, also known as the National Centre for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanisms in Nigeria, was instituted in 2022 under Article 58 of the Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. It operates from the Office of the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.