The Federal Government has identified weak coordination and delayed response rather than lack of information as a major driver of violent conflicts in Nigeria, calling for a robust, multi-stakeholder early warning and response framework to prevent escalation and restore peace.
The Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, made this known in Makurdi while addressing a two-day capacity-building workshop for members of the Conflict Early Warning Response Group (EWRG) in Benue State.
Dr. Ochogwu, who was represented at the event by the CEWIM/Executive Director of Inclusive Action for Peace, Health, Empowerment and Development (IAPHED), Mr. Timothy Terungwa Torjir, said Nigeria’s increasingly complex conflict environment demands closer collaboration among international and local partners, government institutions, civil society groups, and grassroots actors.
He explained that the initiative was being implemented under the National Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System (NCEWERS) with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), targeting four conflict-prone states of Benue, Plateau, Katsina and Kaduna.
According to him, IPCR’s partnership with a consortium of peace and conflict management organisations reflects its mandate as a federal agency to proactively prevent violence and promote social cohesion nationwide.
“Benue State faces layered and intersecting conflicts, and no single institution can respond effectively in isolation,” he said, stressing the need for all stakeholders to jointly coordinate response actions capable of preventing and minimising violence.
Dr. Ochogwu added that IPCR envisions a Nigeria where insecurity becomes a taboo, public infrastructure is protected from destruction, and national development aspirations are realised.
“Conflict has set many communities backward. We must deliberately carry everyone along from the grassroots to the national level to deliver a peaceful country for our generation and those yet unborn,” he stated.
He noted that the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG) project, supported by the Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN–West Africa), commenced in December 2025 with engagements at the national level in Abuja before expanding to Kaduna, Katsina and now Benue.
The project, he said, goes beyond conventional early warning by integrating climate-related conflict risks and gender-sensitive indicators into conflict analysis and response mechanisms.
Speaking to journalists, the lead consultant with Dev Consult Development Services, Mr. Steve Agbo, said the Benue workshop was aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of the state’s multi-stakeholder early warning response group.
Agbo observed that Nigeria’s conflict landscape has grown more complex due to climate change, competition over land and water resources, and mounting socio-economic pressures, making rapid and coordinated responses critical.
He identified delayed action, rather than lack of data, as the weakest link in existing early warning systems.
According to him, the strengthened framework will bring together community-based actors, security agencies both conventional and non-conventional faith-based organisations, traditional institutions, and civil response agencies such as SEMA and the Ministry of Women Affairs.
Agbo said, “This integrated approach will enhance dialogue, improve trust, and ensure early warning reports translate into timely action before conflicts escalate.”
