Reports described the initiative in Jos, Plateau State, as a 20-member interfaith women’s patrol. Interviews and records reviewed for this article found a more complex arrangement: a wider women’s peace-building network focused on mediation, early warning and community referrals, alongside a smaller vigilante unit involved in neighbourhood patrols. The reporting also found conflicting accounts over who leads the patrol and the structure through which it operates.

Blessing Ngozi Emmanuel describes herself as the unit’s commander and coordinator. Manji Danjuma Mangrok, Programme Manager at the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP Nigeria), also identified her as the leader of the women’s vigilante group recognised by community members. As commander, Emmanuel described how the patrol currently operates. According to her, only three Christian women currently undertake physical night patrols. Community leader Da Joseph Nyamzi and patrol member Deborah Lokya corroborated her account of the current patrol team.

Emmanuel said the active patrollers have no uniforms, identity cards, vehicles, weapons, or protective equipment. They rely on torches or mobile phone lights while on patrol and call male vigilantes whenever a situation exceeds their capacity to respond. Beyond physical patrols, the group’s work also includes early warning and community referrals, though these functions do not carry the same enforcement authority as formal security agencies.

The peace network behind the initiative

Hajiya Amina Ahmed leads the Women, Peace and Security Network in Laranto and she founded the Women Initiative for Sustainable Community Development, known as WISCOD. She said WISCOD brought together women from communities divided along ethnic and religious lines. Traditional leaders helped identify participants, but the women had already built trust through informal financial groups known locally as adashe. Ahmed believed that trust could support peacebuilding and community security.

Within the wider network, she explained, women were organised into teams focused on early warning, sexual and gender-based violence, mediation, emergency preparedness.. “The Women, Peace and Security Network is the umbrella,” she said.

Documentary evidence supports that foundation. In January 2024, WANEP-Nigeria recorded 40 women from Bible Faith and Rafinpa , two neighbouring communities in Jos North, participating in a resource mapping exercise They examined community tensions, exclusion, unemployment, and domestic violence. WANEP also identified Emmanuel as Public Relations Officer of the PARTNER coordinating committee at the intervention site. PARTNER, the Peace Action for Rapid and Transformative Nigerian Early Response, was a USAID funded peacebuilding programme implemented by a consortium including WANEP Nigeria.

The women later organised “Breaking the Borders” before a February 2024 rerun election and a joint Sallah and Easter “Feast of Peace” in April, indicating that interfaith peace work preceded reports of the patrol.

Ahmed linked the women’s involvement in peacebuilding to their experiences during and after Plateau State’s 2001 crisis. “At that particular time, a lot of women were always being seen as victims,” she said. Training in mediation, early warning, trauma healing and conflict transformation helped these women become participants in peace work, she explained. “Because the women are the victims of the conflict, they take the peace-building initiatives very seriously,” she added.

The Jos initiative fits within a longer history of Nigerian women organising themselves to address insecurity and communal conflict. The 1929 Women’s War, also known as the Aba Women’s Riot, saw women in southeastern Nigeria mobilise against colonial policies, taxation and warrant chiefs who threatened their livelihoods and political influence.

More recently, Women Without Walls brought Christian and Moslem women together across religious divisions in response to communal violence, using dialogue and peacebuilding to rebuild relationships affected by conflict. Women have repeatedly mobilised to protect their communities and advocate for peace. In 2017, UN Women documented women-led peace networks operating across four local government areas. They worked on early warning, mediation and community dialogue

Why women moved into vigilante work

Although Ahmed linked the wider peace network to communal conflict, Emmanuel said the women’s involvement was also driven by concerns about drug abuse, sexual exploitation and dangers facing children. She described the work as an extension of motherhood: “We are not out to fight. We are not out to make arrests. We just come out as mothers.”

In 2023, Emmanuel said, the women learnt that children, some as young as eight, were being used for prostitution in a local hotel. According to her, they invaded and removed 16 children. One girl was pregnant, two came from Bauchi, two from Kaduna, and the rest from Jos.

Officers at Katako Police Division told them they had no authority to do so and instructed them to return the children, she said. These women refused to take them back to the hotel and instead contacted their parents to pick them up.

Emmanuel said the women wrote to social welfare and child protection authorities and met with officials. Still, no action followed. Her account of the children’s ages and origins, the pregnancy, police response, official approaches and return to their families could not be independently confirmed. She identified the hotel but requested anonymity for security reasons.

The incident convinced her that informal intervention was insufficient and that the women needed recognition within an existing vigilante structure.

She said the unit was registered about two years ago under the Jos North Local Government vigilante structure as the “Community 20 Women Vigilante”, with her as commander. She provided no registration document, roster, founding minutes or first patrol date, but her claim was confirmed by Da Nyamzi.

Emmanuel said the idea emerged after concerns that Christian women could not easily intervene in issues involving Muslim girls. To address this, she approached Aisha Musa from Rafinpa about forming a joint women’s vigilante structure. The proposal received the support of male vigilante groups in both communities, who went on to train the women in patrol responsibilities, early warning and early response. Emmanuel identified Sunday Ayuba and Juwil Jacob as leaders of the male vigilante structure in Bible Faith, while Hamza led the counterpart group in Rafinpa.

Twenty members, but only three on patrol

Earlier reports presented the initiative as a 20-member Christian and Muslim women’s security force. Emmanuel said the figure instead refers to a broader women’s structure spanning Bible Faith and Rafinpa, with most members contributing through early warning and early response rather than night patrols.

According to Emmanuel, only three Christian women currently undertake physical night patrols: herself, a widow’, and a married woman whose husband supports her participation. “You will never see the Muslim women patrolling with us at night,” she said.

Community leader Da Joseph Nyamzi confirmed that the wider structure included 10 women from Bible Faith and 10 women from Rafinpa. He noted the women came from both Christian and Muslim communities, although the number involved in physical night patrols had reduced over time.

A night on patrol

When night falls in Bible Faith and Rafinpa, the women do not set out with the equipment associated with formal security operations. There are no uniforms, vehicles or protective gear. Emmanuel said the women move through the community carrying torches or relying on phone lights, observing and reporting unusual activities through their network.

For Emmanuel, entering Rafinpa, a predominantly Muslim community, is not a source of fear because she views the work as a responsibility to protect the neighbourhood.

Emmanuel said the women believe their activities have helped reduce crime, prevent the escalation of inter-religious tensions and improve communication between communities. She attributed these outcomes to the women’s presence, early warning efforts and relationship with residents. These claims could not be independently verified.

“We know what we are doing. We are doing our job. I have a clear conscience,” she said, explaining that the women’s intention is not to create conflict but to support safety in the community.

The women are also willing volunteers and receive no payment. “Nobody pays us, and we pay no one,” Emmanuel said, adding that the women continue because they believe they are serving their communities.

When asked whether she feared being attacked or killed during patrols, Deborah Lokya acknowledged that fear is often present. She admitted she is “very afraid most times” but continues because she wants her children to grow up in a safer community. Her husband initially opposed her involvement but later accepted it, while her youngest child still pleads with her before she leaves for patrol: “Mommy, better don’t die.”

Despite the risks and the absence of payment, Lokya maintained she remains committed to the work. “I’m not praying for anything but for the future of this community,” she said. “I want a safe place where they will be able to play at any time with anybody.”

Lokya recalled one incident that she said demonstrated the risks the women face. During a period of tension in Jos a few months ago, she said she stood between youths from Bible Faith who were attempting to move into neighbouring Rafinpa in retaliation. As she pleaded with them to stop, she fell to the ground with some of the youths during the struggle. She said they warned that if she had not been a mother, they would have beaten her. According to Lokya, the confrontation ended without escalating into wider violence.

No membership roster or duty record was available to independently verify the full composition of the 20-member structure or determine how participation changed over time.

Emmanuel said the women confront people whose conduct they consider harmful and impose what she described as discipline. “We ask them to do frog jump, run or stay with us till morning, and we talk with them while they are with us,” she said. “Yes, we use physical force when necessary,” she added.

Emmanuel said the women handle domestic rather than criminal cases but did not explain the distinction where domestic conduct may also be unlawful. Serious cases go to armed male vigilantes.

Ahmed said the women initially faced resistance from husbands and men who regarded security as a male role. “As a typical African man, they always think that one is trying to overshadow them,” she said. However, engagement with community gatekeepers helped the women gain acceptance.

Disagreement over who leads the unit.

Ahmed and Emmanuel agree that peacebuilding preceded the vigilante initiative but give different accounts of who controls it. Ahmed initially identified herself as the leader of the Women, Peace, and Security Network in Laranto. When specifically asked about Emmanuel’s group, she described herself as the overall leader and Emmanuel as a unit leader. “Yes, it’s under the same network, under the same peace network,” Ahmed said.

Emmanuel rejected that account.

“Hajiya Amina is not the leader of our group,” she said.

Ahmed was contacted for clarification after Emmanuel disputed that the unit operated under WISCOD’s Women, Peace and Security Network but did not respond.

When asked again to clarify Ahmed’s assertion, Emmanuel responded, “Whatever, my dear. We are not dragging it with her.” “But one thing you should know is that they like taking credit for someone else’s hard work,” she added. “But it’s okay. The joy is that we find fulfilment in what we do.” She did not identify who “they” referred to.

Emmanuel said WISCOD trained the women in peacebuilding but that the unit was created by community women, trained by male vigilantes and operated independently of WISCOD. She said it reports to the community leader, a relationship confirmed by Nyamzi and Lokya.

Ahmed described a different relationship for women in her wider network. She said some women connected to the Women, Peace and Security Network participate in the Police Community Relations Committee and support cases involving women, including gender-based violence, domestic abuse and rape. She also said some women run shifts at Laranto Police Division.

However, ASP Likita Sunday Kwame, DCO 3 at Laranto Police Division, explained that the women he was aware of at the division were linked to a neighbourhood vigilante structure led by Mohammed Auwal Garba, popularly known as Bala. He said about two or three women were attached to the division through that structure, which operated under a male commander. He did not confirm that Hajiya Amina Ahmed led those women or that her Women, Peace and Security Network formally organised shifts at the station.

Garba confirmed that his neighbourhood vigilante structure had more than 50 women participating in its activities. He said the women were coordinated by Eunice Anyanwu, who was responsible for managing their roster and organising participation. According to Garba, the number of women on duty varies depending on the assignment, with some shifts involving about 10 women. He said the structure works with community security arrangements and has trained members who support local vigilante activities.

The interviews confirmed women’s participation in community security structures linked to Laranto Police Division but did not establish that Ahmed’s wider network controlled those activities.

A local initiative, not a citywide force

Ahmed explained that WISCOD works in Laranto, Naraguta, Jenta and Tudun Wada. That presence does not necessarily mean women physically patrol in those places.

Emmanuel clarified that the active patrol operates only in Bible Faith and Rafinpa; although women in other communities had been approached about forming similar groups, no patrols were operating there yet.

To test how widely the initiative is known beyond Bible Faith and Rafinpa, I contacted residents in other parts of Jos. Mrs Lar, a resident of Dung; Mrs Davids, who lives in Old Airport; Miss Praise, a resident of Tudun Wada; and Mr Jang, who lives in Chobe, said they had never heard of an organised women’s patrol in their areas. Their responses are not representative of residents in Bible Faith and Rafinpa and do not establish how those communities perceive the initiative. However, they do show limited awareness outside the communities identified as its operational base and caution against portraying the initiative as citywide.

Residents of Bible Faith and Rafinpa were not directly interviewed. Premium Times quoted Nyamzi as saying the women had resolved community issues and eased some of his responsibilities, offering a leader’s perspective but not wider public opinion.

Who authorises the patrol?

Nigeria’s Police Act 2020 establishes community policing committees and duties for appointed officers, including crime prevention, conflict resolution, intelligence gathering and support for local patrols.

Nigeria’s third National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, launched in December 2025, also supports women’s participation and protection. Yet peace-building and early warning do not require authority to stop, search, restrain or detain anyone.

The reporting did not establish that Emmanuel’s group belongs to such a committee, that members were appointed or screened, or what instrument governs the male vigilante structure.

Emmanuel’s description of physical exercises, overnight restraint and force raises questions about authority and safeguards. The reporting identified no written rules governing those measures or procedures for documenting incidents and complaints.

Dung John Hywere, Programme Officer at the Women for Positive Peace-building Initiative (WOPPI), said WOPPI collaborates with WISCOD but does not supervise Ahmed’s community structures. “We don’t really work directly with those vigilante groups, especially in Jos North for a while now,” he said. Hywere said he had not worked with Emmanuel’s unit and could not confirm its operations. He added that women are more commonly incorporated into mixed vigilante organisations rather than operating as separate female vigilante groups.

“What I see mostly is that there is a community vigilante group, and the women are part of it, not necessarily having a separate vigilante group,” he said.

WOPPI uses non-kinetic approaches, including early warning, mediation, safeguarding and referral, not combat training. Hywere warned that unregulated groups could acquire coercive powers or develop into militias, identifying accountability, recruitment, training, community support and rights violations as concerns.

Linda Dung Peter, Gender Desk Officer at Operation Rainbow Security Outfit, said the organisation had no formal engagement with the 20 women-led vigilance initiative operating in Bible Faith and Rafinpa. “I don’t think we have any formal engagement with them,” she said, explaining that partnerships or security engagements with Operation Rainbow would need to follow formal procedures. “Nothing is official in that regard,” she added.

Her response does not establish that the unit is unregistered under every community structure. It establishes only that Operation Rainbow does not recognise, supervise, or have a formal partnership with the group.

Women’s security roles elsewhere in Nigeria

In Katsina, Document Women reported in 2022 that female members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria worked within a larger mixed structure responding to banditry. Their principal role was intelligence gathering and cooperation with formal security agencies, although some also described participating in the identification or apprehension of suspected informants.

In Borno, a 2015 New Yorker report documented women serving within the Civilian Joint Task Force in an insurgency environment. Their duties included gathering intelligence, searching women entering public events, and assisting in the apprehension of female suspects.

The Jos initiative grew from interfaith peacebuilding and neighbourhood concerns. These examples show women participating in security elsewhere, but different threats and structures limit comparison. Neither is a directly comparable standalone women-led patrol.

Unpaid patrols, undefined protection

Ahmed and Emmanuel said the women are unpaid. “No, we don’t pay them,” Ahmed said. “This is something that is based on volunteerism.”

Ahmed also said women sometimes receive transport support when an organisation sponsors a programme. Emmanuel said patrol members receive no regular payment.

The interviews identified no insurance, guaranteed medical support, injury compensation or family support. The absence of formal support leaves questions about how volunteers are protected if they face harm or require assistance while carrying out patrol activities.

What the reporting establishes

Interviews, documents, and verification efforts show that the Jos initiative consists of overlapping but distinct structures: a wider women’s peace-building network focused on mediation, early warning and referrals; a community vigilante arrangement involving male and female participants; and a smaller group of women carrying out physical patrols in Bible Faith and Rafinpa.

The reporting found evidence of community recognition and supervision of the women’s activities. Da Joseph Nyamzi said community leaders oversee the group and ensure members do not exceed their role.

While Emmanuel described the patrol as a community response to local concerns, the investigation found that the initiative combines peacebuilding, early warning, child protection and neighbourhood vigilante. The arrangement reflects how communities create local responses to insecurity, but it also highlights the risks that arise when security roles develop outside clearly defined systems.

The Jos experience reflects a wider reality facing communities across Nigeria. As insecurity continues to shape daily life, residents increasingly turn to vigilante groups, neighbourhood watch structures and community-based early warning systems to protect themselves when formal responses are delayed.

Such initiatives can strengthen local knowledge, trust and early response. But without recognised authority, training, safeguarding, and complaints procedures, they can also create risks for both volunteers and the people they confront.

The central question raised by Jos is therefore not simply whether women can participate in community security, but how such participation can occur within clear boundaries that define authority, accountability, the use of force and protection of rights