Youth Electoral Guards Seek Police Partnership to Curb Violence Ahead of 2027 Polls

The Nigeria Police Force has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Youth Electoral Guards Observers Initiative, a youth-led intervention designed to curb electoral violence, strengthen grassroots intelligence gathering and promote peaceful democratic participation ahead of the 2027 general elections and beyond.

The assurance was conveyed during a working visit by a delegation led by the President of Nigeria Youths in Politics, Hon. Blessing Oyefeso, to the Inspector-General of Police on September 16, 2026.

The Inspector-General was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Umar Shehu Nadada.

The meeting brought together senior police officers, including the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Counter Terrorism Unit, the AIG Operations, three Commissioners of Police and other senior personnel.

The NYiP-led delegation included the Speaker of the National Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Hon. Usman Shagari, representatives of the Ijaw Youth Council, Comrade William Apah, and the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, represented by Bar. Alfa Abdulmalik.

Also in the delegation were key members of the NYiP National Working Committee and the Chief Adviser to the YEGO Project, Prof. Hephzibah Suobo.

In his opening remarks, Oyefeso presented an overview of the YEGO Initiative and its core objectives.

He explained that the initiative seeks to address electoral violence at the community level by recruiting and training an initial cohort of 50,000 youth master trainers, whose activities will facilitate the engagement of more than 300,000 young people at the community level across the country’s over 178,000 polling units.

The initiative is expected to engage over 3,000,000 youths nationwide before the election.

It will equip young people with the skills to gather and share timely information and intelligence that can support early intervention, enhance electoral security and help prevent violence before and during elections.

Welcoming the delegation on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, Nadada conveyed the IGP’s warm regards and explained that the IGP had wished to receive the delegation personally but was unavailable due to other official engagements.

The DIG assured the delegation that the Nigeria Police Force was willing to collaborate with YEGO in several areas, including supporting the training of Youth Electoral Guards, providing technical assistance to strengthen the initiative’s operations, and facilitating access to communication channels across the 36 State Police Commands and relevant zonal formations to support coordination and information sharing.

He urged the organisers to remain focused on YEGO’s core objectives and guard against political interference that could undermine its mission.

He reiterated the neutral role of the Nigeria Police Force in the electoral process and stressed the importance of honesty, impartiality and commitment to peaceful and credible elections.

Speaking during the engagement, the AIG in charge of the Counter Terrorism Unit commended the initiative, describing it as a significant step toward youth ownership of the electoral process.

He welcomed the fact that young people were coming together under a common platform ahead of the 2027 elections, but urged the organisers to remain vigilant against attempts by politicians to hijack the initiative for partisan interests.

The AIG also stressed the importance of ensuring transparent and credible funding arrangements to protect YEGO’s operational independence.

Other senior police officers advised the organisers to establish a robust screening and profiling system for prospective volunteers.

They emphasised the need to ensure that only individuals committed to the initiative’s objectives are recruited, thereby reducing the risk of the platform being exploited for ulterior purposes.

The Speaker of the National Youth Assembly of Nigeria, the representative of the Ijaw Youth Council and the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria expressed appreciation to the Nigeria Police Force for its openness to collaboration and the constructive insights shared during the engagement.

They reaffirmed commitment to working with relevant security institutions, civil society organisations, youth groups and other stakeholders to strengthen youth participation in electoral security and promote a peaceful, inclusive and credible electoral process.

The engagement ended with a shared understanding of the importance of strategic partnerships, responsible youth mobilisation and institutional cooperation in preventing electoral violence and safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic future.