By Beauty Nwachukwu

The Sharing Education and Learning for Life (SELL) Foundation Nigeria, Jalingo Community, in collaboration with the Foundation for Peace, Hope and Conflict Management (FPHCM) and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), Taraba Command, has organised a one-day capacity-building training on “Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) to Conflict Management.”

The training, held on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the Vigilante Group of Nigeria State Command in Jalingo, brought together 49 officers and men of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, Jalingo Divisional Command, with the aim of strengthening their capacity to identify early warning signs and triggers of violence, report them promptly and support timely responses before such situations escalate.

The training was facilitated by Kini Emmanuel Sale and Maryam Adamu Lanko, who took participants through key principles and practical approaches to early warning, responsive reporting, information gathering and early response.

The sessions explored Introduction to Early Warning and Early Response; Understanding Community Conflicts and Common Triggers; Early Warning Signs and Indicators; the Early Warning and Early Response Cycle—from Warning to Response; Early Response Options at Community Level; Digital and Night-time Warning; Resource-based and Youth Conflicts.

The facilitators emphasised the importance of timely and accurate information gathering, noting that effective early warning mechanisms could help communities identify signs and triggers of violence and enable relevant stakeholders to respond before they escalate into more serious security challenges.

The training also featured an action plan and commitment session, during which all participants made commitments towards applying the knowledge and skills acquired to strengthen early warning and early response mechanisms within their communities.

As part of efforts to enhance the Early Warning and Early Response mechanism, the organisers presented 11 mobile phones to the Vigilante Group of Nigeria to facilitate responsive reporting of early conflict triggers and warning signs.

The mobile phones are expected to strengthen communication and enable VGN personnel to promptly transmit situation reports and relevant information on emerging threats and early signs of violence from their areas of operation.

Speaking during the programme, the leadership of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria appreciated the Sharing Education and Learning for Life Foundation Nigeria and the Foundation for Peace, Hope and Conflict Management for the collaboration and investment in the capacity building of its officers and men.

The VGN leadership described the initiative as valuable to community security and violence prevention, while expressing its readiness for a more engaging, sustained and robust partnership with the two organisations.

The initiative reflects the commitment of the Sharing Education and Learning for Life Foundation Nigeria, the Foundation for Peace, Hope and Conflict Management and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria to strengthening community-based mechanisms for the early identification, reporting and response to emerging threats and triggers of violence.

The organisers reaffirmed the importance of empowering community security actors with the knowledge, skills and communication tools required to provide timely and responsive reports that can support early intervention, violence prevention and peaceful coexistence.

About the Reporter

Beauty Nwachukwu is a Mass Communication student at Landmark University, Kwara State, with an interest in journalism, media and public affairs reporting.