Young people in Plateau State have unequivocally rejected the use of religion as a justification for violence, while resolving to establish a grassroots, multi-faith youth peace network aimed at promoting religious freedom, dialogue and peaceful coexistence across the state.
The resolution was reached at the end of the Plateau State Youth Town Hall on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), Peacebuilding and Responsible Citizenship, held on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at the Joshua Dariye Hall, Plateau State Polytechnic, Jos Campus.
The town hall, organised by the FoRB Youth Ambassadors Cohort 1, Plateau State Delegation, under the auspices of Faith and Freedom Africa, brought together approximately 150 to 200 young people from diverse religious, ethnic and community backgrounds, alongside faith leaders, legal scholars, civil society advocates, peacebuilding practitioners and other stakeholders.
Held under the theme, “Beyond Religion: Building a Generation of Peace Ambassadors for a United Plateau State,”the gathering focused on the role of young people in promoting freedom of religion or belief, peacebuilding and responsible citizenship.
Delivering the keynote address on “Muslim and Christian Youths as Peace Ambassadors,” Prof. Dauda A. Abubakar described Freedom of Religion or Belief as a universal human right and urged young people to see themselves as architects of a shared future rather than foot soldiers of religious identity.
He also challenged political and religious leaders to stop exploiting faith for electoral and personal interests, while urging young people to develop the critical awareness needed to recognise and resist manipulation carried out in the name of community loyalty.
During the panel discussion, speakers examined the relationship between religious conflict, displacement, human trafficking, extremism, social media, justice and youth participation in peacebuilding.
Founder of KRP Ferma Foundation, Kaneng Rwang-Pam, drew attention to the connection between religious conflict, displacement and human trafficking, noting that the economic desperation and social breakdown created by conflict can expose vulnerable people to traffickers.
Mr Faisal Sanusi Ibrahim of Voice Against Religious Extremism, who spoke from his experience of surviving religious extremism in Jos, urged young people to transform the pain of conflict into constructive advocacy and warned against the role of irresponsible social media use in escalating religious tensions.
Country Representative of Midpoint Nigeria, Rev. Joshua Sati, called on participants to distinguish between defending their faith and weaponising it, advocating a rights-based state that protects people of all faiths.
Similarly, Dr. Lere Mark, State Chairperson of YOWICAN and a legal scholar, stressed that lasting peace cannot be separated from justice and accountability. He called for legal and institutional reforms to ensure that perpetrators of religious and ethnic violence are prosecuted.
Assistant Programme Manager of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, Maryam Mahmud Ibrahim, urged stakeholders to move beyond symbolic peacebuilding towards community-owned and youth-led approaches. She also highlighted the role of young Muslim women in interfaith dialogue and called for greater participation of women in peacebuilding decision-making structures.
Barrister Ishaq Lawal, Secretary of JNI Jos and a legal scholar, rejected the idea that Freedom of Religion or Belief is incompatible with Islam. He called for greater religious and civic literacy among young Muslims as a means of preventing radicalisation, while also advocating stronger legal frameworks against hate speech and incitement to religious violence.
One of the major moments of the town hall came during the open-floor session when a participant asked whether it was possible to “fight for God” and whether violence could ever be justified as a defence of the divine.
Responding, Sheikh Farooq Umar stated that “no one can fight for God,” stressing that God does not require human beings to defend Him and that violence carried out in the name of religion represents a distortion of faith for human purposes. The position was affirmed across faith lines by other resource persons at the event.
Participants also confronted the human cost of conflict when a young woman spoke about losing her village to conflict and questioned how victims of religious violence could embrace the ideals of religious freedom while their wounds remained unhealed.
In response, participants acknowledged that FoRB education must be accompanied by trauma support, justice, restoration and the dignified return and reintegration of displaced persons.
The town hall further emphasised that peacebuilding must move beyond policies and rhetoric to everyday respect for people’s religious rights and dignity.
Participants subsequently adopted 10 resolutions and commitments, including promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief as a universal right, rejecting religious violence, resisting political manipulation of religious and ethnic identities, demanding justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators, and prioritising healing and reintegration for displaced persons.
They also resolved to raise awareness about the relationship between religious conflict, displacement and human trafficking, promote respect as the foundation of peace, and use social media responsibly by rejecting hate speech, unverified information and inflammatory content.
A major outcome of the town hall was the establishment of the Plateau State Youth Peace Network, described as a grassroots, multi-faith network of young peace ambassadors committed to the values contained in the communiqué.
The participants called on Faith and Freedom Africa, the Plateau Peace Building Agency and other partners to support the structure and sustainability of the network.
They further declared that the town hall should not be regarded as a one-off event but as the beginning of sustained action, committing to take the conversations and resolutions back to their communities, institutions and faith organisations.
The communiqué was issued on August 27, 2026, by the FoRB Youth Ambassadors Cohort 1, Plateau State Delegation, under Faith and Freedom Africa.
