Location: Nigeria

Most people assume that resentment and distrust carried for decades are too late to heal. Isaac’s pain traced back to 1992, when his parents suffered during a religious conflict in Nigeria. Eighteen years later, his own home was destroyed. By the time he sat down with Search, that history had…

For years, the boundary dispute between the Mangun and Chafem Chiefdoms in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria, has remained a persistent source of tension, straining relationships between the two communities (Mangun and Chafem) and limiting socioeconomic opportunities between them. Although the dispute is currently before the courts,…

For more than ten years, a dispute over succession to the traditional chieftaincy stool divided the Koya Community in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. What began as a leadership disagreement within the Apawu Hamlet (A small settlement in Koya) gradually escalated into a protracted conflict that claimed lives, destroyed property, and fractured…

Years of violent conflict in Mangu, a Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria, left deep divisions between two neighbouring communities: Bungha and Derkong. Following the intercommunal violence that happened in 2023 and 2024 between the Mwaghavul people, Fulani, Hausa, and other community members. Fear and mistrust severely limited interaction.…

For many residents of Nasarawa State, Nigeria, reporting security threats to authorities was often seen as risky or pointless. Years of limited trust between communities and security agencies meant that critical information was frequently withheld, allowing criminal activities, including kidnapping, to flourish. That pattern began to change thanks to the…

Executive Summary Between 2022 and 2026, Search for Common Ground (Search) Nigeria significantly advanced its conflict transformation mandate by integrating digital peacebuilding with traditional offline mediation. Confronted with the weaponization of social media to deepen religious and ethnic divides, Search invested strategically in empowering youth and micro-influencers to champion Freedom…

Most people assume that once a harmful narrative takes hold, it’s impossible to stop. That misinformation moves too fast, reaches too far, and runs too deep to be interrupted. After decades of working in communities where narratives have fueled real violence, Search for Common Ground knows something different. Harmful narratives…

The Nigerian Youth Collective Action for Religious Engagement (Youth CARE) Project, implemented by Search for Common Ground in partnership with Young Leaders Network (YLN), empowers young people in Bauchi, Plateau, and Gombe States to promote interreligious tolerance and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). The project focuses on capacity-building, trust-building,…

These success stories highlight the transformative impact of the Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) program in promoting peaceful societies in Plateau and Kaduna, Nigeria, through interfaith dialogue and Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB).

The COMITAS II project focuses on mitigating conflicts over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa and Taraba States, Nigeria. The project, funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mercy Corps, and Search for Common Ground (SFCG), aims…