WACSOF: 750,000 Stateless Persons Pose Security Threat to West Africa
Published: 15/Sep/2016
Source: Nigeria Today
Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) has warned that countries in the West African region are at the risk of having the security of lives and properties of their citizens compromised by about 750,000 stateless persons that currently live unregistered within them.
The forum stated that because such stateless persons could become soft targets of terrorist groups like the Boko Haram and others, they could be used as mercenaries to perpetrate terrorist acts in countries across the region.
According to a statement from the Acting General Secretary WACSOF, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) in Abuja, with support from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), Nigeria will through the forum launch a project aimed at reducing the risk of statelessness in the country.
The project, according to Rafsanjani, will leverage on Nigeria’s status in the region to use research, advocacy and empowerment of national authorities, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to push for a better approach to the issues of statelessness.
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