Collaborations to Improve COMMUNITY SECURITY (2024-present)

The overarching goal of our collaborations is to improve civilian security in areas at high-risk for violent conflict in North-Central and North-West Nigeria. We collaborate with local partners to establish sustainable civilian security structures — Community Peace Committees and Regional EWER Stakeholder Networks — throughout 5 states. This fosters coordination between communities on their common concerns, and creates linkages between communities and security efforts at the state and national level. We expect that these mutually reinforcing impacts will improve civilian security throughout the region.    

All of our current work builds upon the success of the 2019-2024 Protecting Our Communities Initiative (POCI). POCI has established community-run peacebuilding systems in 18 Nigerian communities in 3 states at the center of complex land use conflicts and rising insecurity.

Peace Ambassadors — diverse community members who took on peace leadership roles in POCI — are now working with the project’s community-based organizations to train and mentor community members at 33 new sites across five states: Benue, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Katsina, and Zamfara.

Using this peer-to-peer model, the peace ambassadors and project team have supported community members to establish Community Peace Committees at each of the 33 sites. These will serve as hubs for a holistic approach for improving community security.

Experienced community members from Benue state train members of Community Peace Committees at new project sites, June 2025

EARLY WARNING-EARLY RESPONSE

Community Peace Committees draw upon the POCI model for community-based Early Warning-Early Response (EWER). They receive reports of potential threats or conflict drivers through a variety of community networks:

How Community Peace Committees learn about early warning signs of violence or conflict

Once they receive reports of potential danger or escalating conflict, Community Peace Committees are developing the ability to respond in a variety of ways. Karuna Center and our partners are training and mentoring community dialogue facilitators and lay counselors who will be able to help community members resolve conflicts, build trust and mutual understanding, and address psychological trauma. Furthermore, we work to build positive relationships with local security officials, government officials, and traditional leaders. Our collaboration also uses radio, social media, and advocacy to further address and de-escalate conflict.

Possible community responses to early warning signs of violence or conflict

To embed community structures within a larger civilian security ecosystem, the team is also establishing Regional EWER Stakeholder Networks to create linkages among communities, local security and government officials, and complementary efforts. These will be connected with early warning-early response structures at the state and national levels.