Experts urge use of accurate language to curb hate speech during conflicts
Security stakeholders have called for the use of precise language during conflicts to curb hate speech and divisive narratives, while also strengthening human intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities. They made the call
Security stakeholders have called for the use of precise language during conflicts to curb hate speech and divisive narratives, while also strengthening human intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities.
They made the call during a high-level virtual dialogue organised by Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited (BSIL) and the White Ink Institute for Strategy Education and Research (WISER), with support from the UKAid-funded Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRING) programme.
The dialogue, titled “Contextualizing Definitions and Terminologies to Address Stereotyping and Ethnic Profiling in Discourses and Security Operations in West Africa,” aimed to refine the linguistic framework used in regional security operations, focusing on how imprecise, ethnicity-based labels reinforce harmful stereotypes and undermine national stability.
The initiative, which focused on the North-West and North-Central regions of Nigeria—where profiling, stigmatisation and the misuse of terminology continue to trigger conflicts—featured a distinguished panel of experts from the civic, military and academic sectors, who provided multidimensional perspectives on the impact of language in conflict.
Speaking during the dialogue, the Team Leader of SPRING, Dr Ukoha Ukiwo, stressed the importance of conflict sensitivity, warning that insensitive language can cause peacebuilding efforts to “boomerang” and fuel further conflict.
He said inception studies identified hate speech and divisive narratives as key drivers of violence in Nigeria.
Dr Fatima Akilu, Executive Director of the Neem Foundation, representing civil society, shared Ukiwo’s view, noting that labels are rarely neutral and often flatten complex identities, leading to further marginalisation, while Amb. Sarki Usman, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Governance and Development to the Borno Governor's Office, representing Multi-Agency Organizations, argued that ethnic profiling is strategically inefficient and creates a stigma that hampers intelligence-gathering and national security.
Representing academia, Prof. Okey Okechukwu, Professor of Strategic Management and Human Capital at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, stressed the necessity of inclusive, grassroots peacebuilding that moves beyond theoretical “seminar bubbles.”
Maj. Gen. E.G. Ode (Rtd), representing the military and security sector as a Senior Research Fellow and Consultant at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre and key member of the Chief of Defence Staff Advisory Team, called for a strategic overhaul that integrates cultural awareness and accountability into frontline operations, while Brig. Gen. Sani Kukasheka Usman (Rtd), former Nigerian Army spokesperson, urged media practitioners to target criminal behavior rather than ethnic identity to avoid “dog-whistle” tactics.
George Lyua’a, a community leader from the North-Central region, stressed that security language should target behavior, not identity, to safeguard civilians and rebuild public trust.
Conclusions from this initiative are expected to feed into a physical event in Abuja on April 1 to 2, 2026, where a draft toolkit to counter labeling and stereotyping and a policy brief will be produced.
The document is also expected to provide guidance for policy language in defence, law enforcement, and judicial institutions, and act as sensitization tools for the media and education sectors.
