IYD 2026: Lagos CP Launches Anti-Thuggery Campaign, Warns Youths Against Electoral Violence

 IYD 2026: Lagos CP Launches Anti-Thuggery Campaign, Warns Youths Against Electoral Violence

LAGOS — The Lagos State Police Command has launched a Campaign Against Political and Digital Thuggery as part of efforts to prevent youth involvement in electoral violence ahead of Nigeria’s next election cycle.

The campaign was unveiled during a Peace Walk organised by the Command to commemorate International Youth Day (IYD) 2026, themed “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations.” The initiative brought together stakeholders from the security, transport, education and youth sectors to promote peace, responsible citizenship and community-based security.

Leading the walk, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, said the exercise was aimed at sensitising young people and the general public to the dangers of violence, thuggery, drug abuse, cultism and other social vices.

“It is not in vain. Out there, people would have known by now what youth stands for. We are sensitising the youth, and not just the youth alone, the general populace, on the need to escape violence, thuggery, drug abuse, cultism and all of the vices you can think about,” Tijani said.

The Commissioner expressed particular concern about the approaching election period, warning that young people have historically been targeted for recruitment into political violence.

He urged youths to reject attempts by politicians or their associates to use them for electoral violence, noting that the consequences of such activities are often borne by the young people involved rather than the sponsors.

“Most especially this time around that we are getting into the election period, we all know that the people that are to be used, or that have been used in the past, are the youth,” he said.

According to him, politicians rarely expose their own children to the risks associated with election-related violence.

“None of these politicians will use any of their children for electioneering, thuggery or violence. It is these different children of nobody,” he said.

Tijani, however, cautioned youths against describing themselves as “nobodies”, stressing that every young person has a role to play in building a better future.

“There is nobody that is nobody. All of us are very important at this point. For the fact that we have not attained that high position does not make us nobody. Tomorrow is there for us. We should not think of today; we should always think of tomorrow,” he added.

The CP urged youths to distance themselves from any invitation to participate in electoral violence, drug abuse, cultism or other criminal activities capable of jeopardising their future.

“If anybody comes to us and uses us for any electoral violence, we should not allow it. We should dissociate ourselves so that our future can be better,” he said.

The campaign also received support from stakeholders in the transport sector.

The Branch Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Ikeja Branch ‘B’, Comrade Isiaka Apena, commended the police for complementing enforcement with public education.

“I've seen police at another level. It's not only by arrest, but by educating our people. That election is coming. Don't let them use you as a ballot box snatcher,” Apena said.

He pledged to take the anti-violence message to transport workers and encourage members to promote peace within their communities.

Similarly, Germanus Anika, Public Relations Officer of PAVDA, representing phone sellers in Computer Village, said traders in the sector were committed to lawful conduct and would not support political thuggery, drug abuse or cultism.

A representative of the National Youth Service Corps also called on young Nigerians to protect their future by rejecting drug abuse, cybercrime and violence.

The State Coordinator of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices, SP Olivia Ugochukwu, reinforced the message, urging youths to reject criminal activities.

“Shun thuggery. Drugs kill. Say no to hard drugs and cultism,” she said.

The Peace Walk featured representatives of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), POCACOV, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) and the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).

The event commenced with physical exercises led by the Command’s Officer in Charge of Sports, ASP Gregory Sylvester, before participants proceeded with the peace walk.

The Lagos Police Command said the initiative underscores the importance of stronger police-community partnerships and greater youth participation in peace-building, security and national development.

The campaign also sends a broader warning ahead of the election season: young Nigerians must refuse to become expendable instruments of political contests and instead protect their lives, rights and future from the consequences of electoral violence.