In Kaduna State, Nigeria, community peacebuilding initiatives are being implemented to prevent disputes from becoming violent. One such initiative is the Muslim Peace Network's (MPN) peacebuilding training, which teaches young people how to handle disagreements and prevent them from escalating. Mistura Hussain, an 18-year-old Kaduna State University student, participated in the training and successfully mediated a dispute between two young people during a community activity. The incident ended without a fight, demonstrating the potential of peacebuilding efforts.
Kaduna State has experienced repeated episodes of interreligious violence linked to political, land, and historical tensions. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the state's history of violence is a concern. The European Union Agency for Asylum reported 475 security incidents in Kaduna between January 2024 and August 2025, resulting in 951 fatalities. These incidents included violence against civilians, battles, riots, and explosions or remote violence. The scale of violence in the state remains significant.
A report by the International Crisis Group identified factors that have fueled conflicts in northern Nigeria, including political manipulation, poverty, unemployment, and ethnic and religious rivalries. In Kaduna, disputes over land, political interests, resources, identity, and religion have repeatedly contributed to wider violence. However, peacebuilding practitioners argue that preventing escalation can begin with how people handle seemingly ordinary disagreements. By building trust and giving people the confidence to address problems before they become sources of wider tension, peacebuilding efforts can help prevent violence.
The 1992 crisis in Zangon-Kataf, which began as a dispute over the relocation of a market, escalated into violent confrontations between Hausa and Atyap communities, resulting in 95 deaths and 252 injuries. The violence later spread to other parts of Kaduna State. Human Rights Watch noted that the crisis was initially sparked by a disagreement over the market before taking on wider ethnic and religious dimensions. This incident highlights the importance of addressing disputes before they acquire wider meanings.
In Kakuri, a community in Kaduna South Local Government Area, Muslim and Christian youths have been working together to strengthen their relationships through activities such as playing football. However, the killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student who was beaten and burned to death by fellow students in Sokoto State, sparked anger among some Christian youths in Kakuri, who began retaliating against Muslim youths. The incident resulted in three deaths before security personnel intervened. This episode demonstrates how a disagreement or misunderstanding can quickly deepen existing tensions and threaten relationships within a community.
The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP-Nigeria) reported that a Community-Based Reconciliation Committee in Kakuri helped resolve a feud between two families after the disagreement became serious enough to involve security authorities. The families eventually reconciled following mediation. MPN's peacebuilding efforts have also been successful, with its Peace Education programme reaching more than 3,700 students in seven private schools in Kaduna between 2021 and 2025.
MPN's activities, including the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP), Peace Clubs in schools, and a network of Community Peace Officers, aim to encourage residents, students, and religious, community, and traditional leaders to address disagreements before they develop into violence. By building relationships before conflict, peacebuilding efforts can help communities manage tensions and prevent disagreements from escalating into violence. The organisation's work focuses on building trust and giving people the confidence to address problems before they become sources of wider tension.
Key points
- Community peacebuilding initiatives in Kaduna State, Nigeria, are showing promise in preventing disputes from escalating into violence.
- The Muslim Peace Network's peacebuilding training is teaching young people how to handle disagreements and prevent them from escalating.
- Peacebuilding efforts in Kaduna State aim to build trust and give people the confidence to address problems before they become sources of wider tension.
