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 joint efforts of Search for Common Ground, Spirit of America, and the Nasarawa State government.
As part of this joint initiative, Search for Common Ground convened a State-level Conflict Management Training that brought together representatives of government institutions, security agencies, civil society organisations and community leaders to strengthen collaboration on conflict prevention and response. The training did more than just provide technical knowledge. It created a rare opportunity for communities and security actors to engage openly, building trust and establishing practical channels for sharing early warning information.
During discussions, community representatives raised concerns about suspected kidnapping syndicates operating in the city of Lafia and surrounding communities. Rather than treating the information as routine discussion, security agencies immediately met to coordinate an operational response. Within twenty-four hours of the training, security agencies acted on the information received. Participants were informed that an operation had resulted in the arrest of five suspected kidnappers linked to the reported incidents. While the arrests were carried out by government security agencies, the outcome demonstrated the value of trusted relationships and timely information sharing fostered through the project.
For many participants, it reinforced a powerful message: when communities trust security institutions enough to speak, and institutions respond quickly, lives can be protected. . As the Deputy Director of the Department of State Services, Sanusi Abdul, said, “this experience showed us that our voices matter. When communities and security agencies work together, information can save lives.”
With this message in mind, participants were encouraged to continue reporting credible security concerns through the Community Safety and Resilience Committee (CSRC) WhatsApp platform while the formal Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) Situation Room is being established.
Beyond the immediate security response, the incident marked an important shift in the relationship between citizens and security actors in Nasarawa State.
This joint initiative is to reduce the incidence and severity of religious and intergroup violence through a strengthened multilevel Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) system across all four target states and institutionalizing the Early Warning Early Response system and build trust between community members and security agencies to enhance information gathering across communities in all the four target States of Benue, Taraba, Plateau and Taraba.
