Climate Change Driving Crimes, Insecurity, Says IG

By Kingsley Nwezeh

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Baba, has attributed the rising crime wave and challenge of insecurity to climate change.
The IG, who spoke while launching a tree planting campaign in Abuja tagged: “One Nigeria, One Tree”, said climate change was one of the major drivers of crimes and insecurity in the country.
The IG stated that that there was “a strong connection between climate change and internal security”.
“Human activities including desertification, deforestation and other elements of climate change, are major drivers of poverty, crimes and insecurity generally”.
The police chief maintained that “the intense rivalry and competition for natural resources between farmers and herders occasioned by climate change is at the root of some of the violent clashes, not only in Nigeria, but across the Sub-Sahara and the Sahel region.
He, therefore, commended the organisers of the programme, the Greater Nigeria Initiative and expressed his belief that the initiative, which constitute one of the non-kinetic approaches of the force in combating crime would assist the it in proactively responding and addressing the increasingly broadened and complex security threats in the country.
He pledged the commitment of the force to the 25 million tree planting initiative of the federal government while assuring that the exercise would be replicated across all zonal and state commands towards addressing the alarming deforestation challenges occasioned by climate change, building an eco-friendly environment for peaceful co-existence among the citizens and enhancing national security.
The IG assured the nation that the force remained committed to deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in tackling crimes and criminality towards boosting public safety, public health and security in the country.