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Senator Iroegbu and Alex Enumah in Abuja
The former Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has called for a global alliance of democratic nations, including Nigeria, aimed at creating a formidable force for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency.
He made this call on Wednesday in Abuja during the Nigeria National Security Summit with the theme: “Confronting and Containing Threats from Terrorism and Sectarian Insurgency”, organized by the Council on African Security and Development (CASADE) and Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR).
He noted that terrorists are becoming highly inter-connected, citing the recent alliance of the Boko Haram sect and the Islamic State (IS), which, he noted, seek to displace the values of democratic nations.
The former Prime Minister of Denmark stressed in his keynote address that a winnable formula and sustainable solution has not been developed to counter extremists and global terror.
He said: “Terrorism targets our values; to replace democracy with tyranny, rule of law with Sharia, and minority rights with oppression.
“We therefore need to create a forum where world democracies will meet to discuss how to strengthen the rule of law, good governance, combat insecurity, terrorism and check their financing. We need a worldwide pact based on freedom and security.
“We still have not developed an effective formula to fight terrorism.”
Speaking further, Rasmussen called for an immediate end to not only Boko Haram terrorism but the insecurity occasioned by the resurgent Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and Fulani herdsmen’s attacks.
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