When Women Keep Watch: Inside Plateau’s women-led vigilantes, peace networks

On an afternoon in 2003, Blessing Emmanuel, a young widow, was selling pastries and drinks at her shop on the University of Jos campus with her son and three siblings. By 3 p.m., news of violence broke across Jos town, the capital of Plateau State. Unknown to her then, it was the beginning of an ordeal that would change her life forever.

“We couldn’t save anything,” she said. “With the help of the military men, we managed to get to a church member’s house, where we spent three days before getting another apartment in the Bible Faith community.”

A City in Crisis

Plateau State has long been the epicentre of ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria’s north-central region. In September 2001, sectarian clashes in Jos claimed about 1,000 lives. Three years later, in May 2004, more than 700 people were killed in Yelwa in another inter-communal violence.

A long-standing conflict between the Bible Faith and Rafinpa communities in Jos North is one of the major reasons for these tensions. Rooted in grievances over history, identity, and land ownership, the clashes are often framed around two divisive issues: ethno-religious rivalry and political-economic competition.

The “indigene-settler” dichotomy has further fuelled hostilities. Predominantly Christian groups see themselves as the owners of the land and regard their Muslim neighbours as settlers without legitimate claims.

Another round of deadly violence began in November 2008, a day after Timothy Buba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner of a Jos North local government election.

Human Rights Watch documented that Muslim leaders reported 632 dead, many buried in mass graves, while Christian leaders counted 129 deaths.

Among the dead was John Black, a respected youth leader in the Bible Faith community, whose murder marked a painful turning point.

The Death of a Peacemaker

Ms Emmanuel remembers the night vividly. Around 2 a.m., noise erupted outside her home.

“We started hearing noise at about 2 a.m.,” she said. “When we went out, John Black’s body was burning.”

According to her, youths from the neighbouring predominantly Muslim Rafinpa community had launched an attack. Mr Black had stepped out to intervene.

“He thought he knew them well enough to settle things,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion. “But things got out of hand, and he never came back alive.”

For Ms Emmanuel and many others, his death left a deep wound.

“Honestly, John Black’s death affected me. He was vibrant. He would never see you in pain without stepping in,” she added, her brief smile fading.

Mr Black’s funeral was held at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Primary School, but his house remains abandoned. No one has lived there since. His wife and child disappeared.

“Since the death of that boy, I have not seen any youth in this community doing what that guy was doing. He engaged in sanitation and cared for everyone,” Ms Emmanuel said.

Yet in the silence that followed, seeds of peacebuilding began to take root, often nurtured by women who carried the heaviest burdens of loss.

In Bible Faith and Rapfina, both communities located in the Laranto district of Jos North, widows and mothers formed small groups that met in secret locations to discuss safety, share stories of children lost and husbands killed, rebuild trust, and pray.

Women Begin the Healing

For women like Ms Emmanuel and her counterparts in Rafinpa, UNSCR 1325 was not a distant policy; it was a lived reality.

It is here that the global agenda on Women, Peace, and Security intersects with local realities.

The United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, unanimously adopted on 31 October 2000, had for the first time recognised the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls, while affirming the critical role they play in peace and security.

The resolution reaffirmed the importance of women’s participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, as well as in peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction.

It called for increased representation of women at all decision-making levels, urged their protection from gender-based violence, demanded the integration of women’s perspectives into peacekeeping operations, and highlighted women as active agents of peace, not just victims of war.

For years after the 2008 crisis, the two communities cut ties. Between 2008 and 2014, members of Bible Faith and Rafinpa avoided one another.

A slow thaw began in 2015, initiated by women. Encounters in hospitals opened the door for tentative greetings and cautious conversations.

“We started relating gently,” Ms Emmanuel said. “When I introduced myself as from Bible Faith, one would say she was from Rafinpa. That’s how we started gradually.”

Friendships that predated the violence were cautiously rekindled. Women attended each other’s ceremonies, child naming, weddings, but often in secret, disguising themselves or arranging escorts to ensure safety.

This fragile rebuilding continued until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic compelled women to reflect on their collective hardships. In August that year, Ms Emmanuel organised a meeting of eight women, four Christians from Bible Faith and four Muslims from Rafinpa.

By December, they held a joint Christmas get-together at the SDA Primary School, the same place where John Black’s funeral took place.

“We ate, drank, and danced together,” Ms Emmanuel recalled. When Sallah came in 2021, the Muslim women reciprocated with an invitation of their own.

From that modest beginning, their network has grown to about 300 women. Today, 62 members remain active, 31 Christians and 31 Muslims, meeting monthly to reinforce peacebuilding efforts.

Breaking the Borders

Ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, memories of the 2008 violence resurfaced. Determined to prevent history from repeating itself, the women staged a peaceful protest called Breaking the Borders.

“We said we didn’t want it to repeat itself,” Ms Emmanuel said. “Because this time, we didn’t know who would be affected, whether one of our own or their own.”

The elections passed peacefully, and the women resolved to expand their efforts into long-term initiatives that would strengthen community resilience.

Beyond Borders: Women Take Security Into Their Hands

Recognising persistent security threats, the women formed a vigilante group led by Ms Emmanuel. The team includes 20 women, 10 from each community.

“With mixed feelings, I lead them,” she explained. “While the men and young people sleep, it is us women who keep watch at night.”

For Khadijah Mmamud, a Muslim woman, joining the vigilante required overcoming fear and scepticism. “I had to convince them it was for the good of the community,” she said.

The vigilantes are armed only with sticks and flashlights.

“It is dangerous for us as women,” said Hanatu Titus. “We make calls before leaving the house to plan our patrols.”

“My husband wakes me up to go out at night to protect them, while he sleeps,” she added.

Despite the risks, their presence has curbed crime and improved relations. Members also share intelligence to prevent renewed violence.

“Sometimes we whisper to each other when communities are planning attacks,” Ms Mmamud said.

Still, challenges remain. Criminals are often handed over to the police but rarely prosecuted. “The police don’t support us,” said Aishatu Musa. “We want the security agencies to back our work.”

Community Leadership and External Support

Community leaders recognise the women’s role in restoring peace. Da (Chief) Joseph Nyamzi said their initiatives have helped mend broken relationships.

“As leaders, we tried to use women to promote peace because they relate better,” he explained. “Within the vigilante group, they’ve eased me of some responsibilities, resolving issues so I can focus on other matters.”

The Plateau State Peacebuilding Agency (PPBA) also highlights its contributions. “These women do a lot, to be honest,” said Hope Chuwang, the agency’s team lead for coordination and partnerships.

“We try to create spaces for them to share experiences and strengthen their capacity.”

Also, data from PPBA shows no deaths were recorded in Bible Faith and Rafinpa due to violent conflict between 2014 and 2023.

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) has also supported the women through skills acquisition programmes designed to sustain their grassroots initiatives.

Programme Manager Manji Mangrock emphasised that women often bear the heaviest burdens of conflict.

“One of the things we do is empower these women to own the process and equip them with the necessary skills,” he said.

Mr Mangrock added that while policies for peacebuilding exist in Plateau State, they are rarely implemented.

“There have been at least three or four commissions of inquiry since 2001, but none have been implemented,” he said.

Sustaining the Gains

From losing her home in 2003 to witnessing Mr Black’s murder in 2008, Blessing Emmanuel has lived through the worst of Jos’s violence. Yet today, she leads a network of women bridging divides, securing their neighbourhoods, and reshaping peace from the ground up.

Their journey reflects the power of grassroots women’s initiatives in rebuilding fractured societies. Through persistence, courage, and collaboration, the women of Bible Faith and Rafinpa have shown that peace is possible even in communities scarred by history.

“This report was produced and first published by Social Voices with support from the Solutions Journalism Network and the Hewlett Foundation, under the Reporting Gender Equity Fellowship, an initiative
of Social Voices Media & Development Foundation.”