Mr Gbenga Agun, State Commandant of the NSCDC, made the call on Monday in Benin shortly after his personnel staged a peace march to mark the 2025 International Day of Peace.
The event, organised by the command’s Peace and Conflict Resolution Unit, brought together officers, civil society groups, and peace advocates under the United Nations theme: ”Act Now for a Peaceful World”.
Agun said the corps’ mandate goes beyond security enforcement to promoting civility and human rights.
According to him, as our name goes – Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, our duties and functions entail enforcing laws with civility and not forcefully.
”We enforce minimum force. We are civil in our actions. In Edo, we try as much as we can to avoid violence, because when there is peace, there will be development.”
Similarly, Mr Uchegbu Evaristus, Head of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Unit, explained practical ways of resolving disputes before they escalate.
He said that arbitration, mediation, or negotiation were best options to resolving disputes, adding that a minute thing like quarreling over a sachet of pure water could destroy peace if not handled.
Delivering the keynote lecture, Patience Agbonifo, underscored the importance of peace, saying that it was the responsibility of all to ensure it reigns.
”Peace enhances health and well-being. It reduces stress, anxiety, and trauma. It also facilitates development.
”Rather than spending money repairing the damage caused by war and violence, such funds should go into building infrastructure,” she said.
Agbonifo, who is a Superintendent of Corps in the command, listed principles of peace to include compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, and prayer, stressing that it was never optional
In the same vein, Mrs Maria Okoh, Deputy Coordinator of Partners for Peace (P4P) in Edo, pledged stronger collaboration with the corps in tackling emerging crises in the state.
Okoh urged officers of the corps to spread the message of peace.
”Whatever you hear today, take it back to your homes, offices, business places. We have come to speak peace today,” she said. (NAN)
