Access To Justice In Local Communities: Analysis Of The Modus Operandi Of Kabara Traditional Justice System In Duhu District, Nigeria

A.H. Diram, Faculty of Law, Modibbo Adama University, Yola – Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This paper has discussed the mode of operation of the Kabara Traditional justice system as an institution that aims at promoting peace and access to justice through dispute resolution in the Duhu district in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The institution came to light after the invasion of the district by the Boko Haram insurgents. The paper analyzed some of the disputes that were resolved amicably by the institution. It also examined the role that the institution played in persuading the community members to accept the reintegration campaign in favor of the repentant members of the Boko Haram sect. it is in the course of discussing the reintegration issue that the paper explained how the Kabara’s mode of operations assisted in dispelling the stigma hitherto placed against the ex-members of Boko Haram. This was achieved through organizing football competitions and introducing acts of community service as part of the punishment for joining the sect by the repentant. Through an empirical method with the combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the paper concludes that the uniqueness of the modes of operations adopted by the Kabara Traditional Justice has made a lee-way towards bringing peaceful coexistence back and promoting amicable settlement of disputes and conflicts within the district. However, the institution is underfunded as it is not under the control or budget of any government establishment or other Civil Society Organizations.

Keywords: Kabara, Modus Operandi, Boko Haram, Dispute Settlement, Traditional Justice