The European Union (EU), in collaboration with the National Peace Committee (NPC) Nigeria, has activated an intelligence platform designed to identify perpetrators of electoral violence and transform early warning signals into coordinated responses, marking a strategic shift from moral persuasion to evidence-based intervention in the country’s troubled election cycle.
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Officially inaugurated on Wednesday in Abuja, the Election Security Information (ESI) Hub aims to address persistent security challenges that continue undermining the credibility and inclusiveness of Nigerian elections.
Executive Director and Head of Secretariat of the NPC, Father Atta Barkindo, explained that the platform moves beyond traditional peace advocacy to establish concrete accountability mechanisms. “The hub represents the commitment of NPC to move just from pledges on peace efforts to prevention and issues of accountability,” Barkindo stated, noting the transition from rhetoric to action.
Since its creation in 2014, the Peace Committee has relied on expert analysts and security consultants to provide situational assessments. However, the new hub provides systematic data collection, verification, and analysis capabilities that will inform all NPC interventions with evidence rather than sentiment, according to Barkindo.
The urgency driving the initiative became apparent through recent incidents highlighting ongoing electoral security vulnerabilities. Head of the Governance, Gender, Human Rights and Migration Service at the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ruben Aguilera, cited troubling developments in Anambra State, where upcoming elections face serious threats.
“There was some information in the spring before showing, for example, how there are still incidents in places like Anambra, where we are also going to have elections coming up soon,” Aguilera revealed, noting his recent visits to security agencies and the electoral body in the state uncovered multiple local government areas where insecurity poses significant challenges.
Aguilera described areas controlled by bandits and armed groups that interfere with the deployment of election teams, creating no-go zones that effectively disenfranchise citizens and compromise electoral integrity. These realities underscore why security remains a prerequisite for credible, inclusive elections.
“We are moving beyond moral and convening power. We are now talking about moving into evidence-based platforms that would allow us to track incidents and those behind those incidents in terms of electoral offences,” Aguilera declared, articulating the philosophical shift underlying the hub’s establishment.
The chairman of the NPC, Retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, stated that democratic strength rests fundamentally on electoral credibility and citizen confidence in election processes. Represented by retired General Martin Agwai, NPC member, Abubakar acknowledged that while Nigerian democracy continues to deepen, its election cycles reveal persistent security challenges, coordination gaps, and weak response systems, allowing local tensions to escalate into broader conflicts.
“The hub is a deliberate response to these challenges. It is a strategic platform designed to gather, analyse, and share information on security and its impact on elections,” Abubakar stated, describing how the system will track electoral offences through processes that transform early warning into coordinated, timely, and local responses by critical stakeholders.
The NPC Chairman characterised the hub as representing critical evolution in Nigeria’s democratic architecture, converting commitment into coordination and pledges into practical action. This institutional development addresses longstanding criticism that peace advocacy lacks enforcement mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable.
Barkindo acknowledged that, despite remarkable progress, Nigerian elections still reflect deep vulnerabilities threatening public trust. The hub was conceived as a direct response to these persistent realities, establishing proactive mechanisms to collect, analyse, and share data on election-related security problems.
“The evidence collected will assist the Peace Committee in all its interventions and mediations,” Barkindo explained, highlighting how systematic intelligence gathering will enhance the effectiveness of NPC’s conflict resolution efforts across Nigeria’s diverse electoral environments.
The initiative emerged from The Kukah Centre, which serves as NPC Secretariat, with support from the European Union under its Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme. The partnership reflects the EU’s longstanding commitment to strengthening Nigerian democratic institutions since NPC’s establishment in 2015.rg
Director of Planning and Monitoring at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Helen Ajayi, commended both NPC and EU for the initiative, confirming that the hub will support the commission’s work in managing electoral security challenges that have plagued recent election cycles.
The hub’s launch comes as Nigeria prepares for upcoming gubernatorial elections in states like Anambra, where security concerns threaten voter participation and electoral credibility. The platform’s ability to identify perpetrators and coordinate responses will face immediate testing as these contests approach.
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