The Guan District Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), with support from the European union (E.U), has engaged youth groups on violent extremism.
The engagement, which formed part of the on-going Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Project being implemented by the NCCE, aimed at ensuring that the youth understood the negative consequences of joining extremists’ groups.
Speaking at the programme at Likpe-Mate, the capital of the Guan District, Oti Region, Mr. Setriakor Kwesi Gagakuma, the Deputy Oti Regional Director of NCCE, said violent extremism posed a significant threat to global security and societal harmony.
He said the alarming trend is the deliberate targeting and radicalisation of young people by extremist groups and that the issue even become more pronounced during election periods, when political and social tensions are heightened, and the youth are more engaged in political discourse.
Mr. Gagakuma said extremists exploit these heightened tensions, using sophisticated propaganda and recruitment strategies to influence and recruit young individuals, especially, on social media.
Also, young individuals who are affected may not be aware of what is happening because radicalisation is a gradual process.
He said even though anyone can become an extremist, young people who are in quest of a sense of identity, purpose, or belonging may be more susceptible to recruitment into violent extremist groups.
Mr. Gagakuma said there was the need for civic engagements that foster a sense of unity, belonging, and patriotism in the youth to prevent violence and radicalisation among them during the 2024 elections.
The District Crime Officer, Mr. Gomez Nerh, advised the youth to be watchful in their environments so that suspicious characters could be reported to the security agencies.
He also urged the youth not to take the law into their own hands and attack people they suspected.
The participants pledged their commitment to protecting their environments and called on the security agencies to act with dispatch when suspects are reported to them.
Source: GNA
