By George Omagbemi Sylvester
Religious and traditional leaders, alongside international partners including the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), have urged the urgent inclusion of women in security planning and peacebuilding to address Nigeria’s persistent insecurity, particularly in the Northwest region. The call came at the Northwest Regional Conference on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) held in Katsina State and attended by stakeholders from Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano states on March 3–4, 2026.
The Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, represented at the conference by senior council officials, reaffirmed traditional institutions’ commitment to peacebuilding and gender justice, noting that security challenges often manifest first at the community level where women play pivotal roles.
Delivering the keynote address, Matthew Hassan Kukah highlighted that excluding women undermines efforts to resolve insecurity, since women carry social cohesion and community resilience. He argued that legal frameworks alone cannot deliver peace without women’s voices and lived insights.
Officials from the UK‑supported projects noted that community safety and justice improved where women held up to 40 % representation in dialogue committees. Participants agreed that structurally incorporating women into formal peace and security mechanisms is essential to crafting sustainable solutions to insecurity in Nigeria’s Northwest.
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