Brighter Futures Nigeria: A Groundbreaking Project to Prevent Serious and Organised Crime by Empowering Youth and Strengthening Communities

Brighter Futures Nigeria, an ambitious crime prevention project,is laying the groundwork for a transformational approach to community safety and youth empowerment across four Nigerian states.

The programme is the first of its kind to test the “Prevent” approach of policing in Nigeria, effectively stopping crime before it occurs. The “Prevent” model was created in the UK and used to tackle systemic crime in inner city areas such as Liverpool and London. Unlike traditional crime prevention,the Prevent approach targets individuals on the early stage of the  crimecycle, where harm is still limited and intervention is most effective. It complements enforcement by focusing on early intervention, resilience-building, and community-led change.

A Three-Pronged Approach to Prevention

The Brighter Futures programme delivers impact through three interlinked workstreams:

1. Building Prevent Structures

The programme has established Prevent committees and structures at the Federal, State, and Local Government levels in Lagos, Edo, Bayelsa and Zamfara.

These structures bring together representatives from the Nigerian police, government agencies, community stakeholders, and civil society organisations to collaboratively conduct crime profiling, identify participants, and design and implement long-term, sustainable interventions.

Crucially, all interventions are locally owned, with community leaders actively involved in their design and approval.

2. Capacity Assessment and Development

To strengthen institutional adoption of this Prevent model, Brighter Futures builds on existing Nigerian Police training by delivering customised courses in each of the four states. Officers are trained to implement the Prevent approach and will eventually form part of mixed teams alongside civilians in Crime Prevention Partnerships (CPPs) and Crime Prevention Steering Groups (CPSGs). A “train-the-trainer” component ensures long-term sustainability and scale-up.

The aim is to institutionalise the Prevent approach within relevant agencies and structures, ensuring long-term sustainability through targeted training and continuous stakeholder engagement. This includes strengthening Prevent integration across all levels, particularly within the National Police Force (NPF), to embed it as a core component of crime prevention efforts.

3. Strategic Communication

Communications campaigns are central to changing mindsets and reducing tolerance for organised crime. Long-term campaigns are currently running in:

• Zamfara – tackling cross-border illicit trade
• Lagos – countering cybercrime
• Bayelsa and Edo – dismantling cultism narratives

Early Wins, Long-Term Vision

From young people taking on leadership roles to communities forming new Preventstructures, early results show Brighter Futures is generating real change. The programme is already enabling communities to take ownership of their safety and empowering a new generation to thrive—on their terms.

“The Prevent approach works when it is community-led, credible, and aligned with local realities,” said a Emeka Ukatu, the Brighter Futures Project Manager. “Brighter Futures is proving that early, targeted action—not punishment—can deliver sustainable security results and open new doors for young Nigerians.”

The programme has reached millions of young people across Nigeria, and helped many thousands of young people into work or education providing an alternative to becoming involved in organised crime. Now, as the programme moves into its next phase, it will continue to evolve in partnership with Nigerian institutions such as the National Crime Prevention Centre and POCACOV, with the long-term goal of embedding Prevent into Nigeria’s crime response architecture.

You can find out more about Brighter Futures by visiting the website – https://www.brighterfuturesnigeria.com/