…Police hierarchy says it will provide training, technical support and communication access to youth-led observers targeting over 178,000 polling units nationwide
By Danjuma Amodu
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Nigeria Police Force has pledged to partner the Youth Electoral Guards Observers (YEGO) Initiative, a youth-driven programme designed to curb electoral violence and strengthen grassroots intelligence gathering.
The assurance was given on Tuesday, September 16, 2026, when the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Umar Shehu Nadada, received the leadership of Nigeria Youths in Politics (NYiP), conveners of the initiative, on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police.
Nadada said the IGP would have received the delegation personally but for other official engagements. He said the Force will support YEGO with training of its members, technical assistance and access to communication channels across the 36 state commands and zonal formations for effective coordination and information sharing.
He cautioned the organisers to guard the initiative against political infiltration and to remain focused on its core objectives, reiterating the neutrality of the police in the electoral process.
Presenting the initiative, the President of NYiP, Hon. Blessing Oyefeso, said YEGO was conceived to address electoral violence from the community level. According to him, the programme will recruit and train 50,000 youth master trainers who will in turn engage over 300,000 community volunteers across the country’s 178,000 polling units, with a projection to mobilise over three million young Nigerians before the elections.
Oyefeso said the volunteers will be equipped with early warning and intelligence gathering skills to support security agencies in preventing violence before and during elections.
He led a delegation that included the Speaker of the National Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Hon. Usman Shagari; Comrade William Apah of the Ijaw Youth Council; Barr. Alfa Abdulmalik of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria; members of the NYiP National Working Committee and the Chief Adviser to the YEGO Project, Prof. Hephzibah Suobo.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Counter Terrorism Unit, who was present at the meeting alongside the AIG Operations, three Commissioners of Police and other senior officers, described YEGO as a significant step toward youth ownership of the electoral process. He however warned against opaque funding and urged the organisers to ensure transparent financial arrangements to protect the initiative’s independence.
Other senior police officers advised the organisers to establish a robust screening and profiling system for prospective volunteers to ensure that only committed individuals are recruited and to prevent the platform from being exploited for partisan interests.
Responding, leaders of the National Youth Assembly, Ijaw Youth Council and Northern Youth Council thanked the police for its openness and reaffirmed commitment to work with security agencies, civil society organisations and youth groups to promote a peaceful, inclusive and credible electoral process.
