The United Nations on Thursday advised Nigeria government and its security agencies to act
swiftly on early warning signals of attacks on communities in Nigeria.
Mrs. Sewuese Torkuma, the Gender Technical Advisor of the world body, gave the advice in Jos, during an advocacy visit to the headquarters of `Operation Rainbow’, a state-owned security outfit charged with tackling violence in Plateau.

“The security agencies must be proactive; you cannot wait for the
violence to take place before you start chasing the perpetrators.
“You must strive to avert the persistent loss of lives, destruction of
properties and displacement of women and children,” she said.

She urged the security agencies to allow more women to occupy
higher positions to enable them play crucial roles in the peace
building process.

Torkuma said that the visit was to sensitise `Operation Rainbow’ on
the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which seeks to
promote gender parity at all levels of decision making.

In his remarks, Maj. Gen Stephen Ngua’r (rtd), Coordinator of the
security outfit, said that it was adopting an all-inclusive policy that
would involve everyone in the handling of responsibilities.

He said that the UNDP would soon train the outfit’s staff on
information gathering skills and strategies for detecting early
warning signals.