The Place of The Church in Peace-building and Rural Community Policing in Igbo land
Peace and security are essential ingredients for sustainable socio-economic development in a every society. The worsening security situation in Igboland, in the recent times, has significantly affected the general wellbeing of the inhabitants and hampered community development. This paper titled “The place of the Church in peace-building and rural community policing in Igboland” seeks to examine several efforts made by the Church to support peace-building process and to address security concerns in rural communities. The paper sets out first to look at the sordid security challenges and threats to peace in Igboland. It goes on to examine the efforts of the Church in peace building in Igboland; the Church and rural community policing in Igboland; effects of peace-building and rural community policing on security in Igboland and Challenges confronting the Church’s peace-building and rural community policing support in Igboland. The study finds out that rural community policing has contributed to the reduction of the rate of kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism-related violence, vandalism, herdsmen attacks and activities of unknown gunmen in Igboland. The study concludes by showing that the achievement of effective and efficient rural community policing in Igboland cannot be easy without the full cooperation and partnership with the Church. It recommends, among others, that different Church denominations shall avoid unnecessary rivalry and work together to form a formidable force in the process of peace-building and rural community policing in Igboland.
Keywords: Church, Igboland, peace-building rural community policing, vigilante groups
