The Igbo Indigenous Justice System

The Igbo indigenous justice system is process-oriented, victimcentred, and humane, and it applies persuasive and reintegrative principles in adjudicating justice. A major component of the Igbo indigenous justice system is that it is participatory, and decisions are reached through consensus. Everybody has equal access to and participation in the justice system; furthermore, no one can arrogate to himself or herself the role of "professional" or "expert," thereby subjugating the voices of ordinary community members. Again, the goal of justice is the restoration of relationships and social harmony disrupted by the conflict. It is understood in Igbo justice models that all members of society are experts on their shared social realities and are thus qualified to participate in the quest for justice.

My own ethnographic research shows that the indigenous justice system is better and more effective in addressing issues of crime and justice in Nigeria. One reason the indigenous justice system is more effective is because it recognizes that crime is a violation of people and relationships, not just a violation of "law". From this perspective accountability should be to the victims and the community, not to an external system of legal codes and bureaucratic procedures. As a balanced justice system Igbo indigenous justice works to empower, not criminalize, victims, offenders, and the affected community. The focus of this system is to actively and meaningfully participate in the identification and definition of harm, and to have direct involvement in the search for restoration, healing, responsibility, and prevention. As a restorative justice system it emphasizes a move away from the law-and-order model of criminal justice, and encourages steps toward implementing a human rights model of social justice.

This system of justice has illustrated, first, that social sanctions, even when devoid of punishment, are sufficient to bring people to order, and to resolve conflicts and maintain social safety; second, that justice-making is more viable and effective when enmeshed in the daily life of local communities, as opposed to centralized and depersonalized institutions of criminal justice; third, that democracy is, after all, about the decentralization of power in governance and the involvement of all segments of society in decision-making. Thus, the principles and practices of the Igbo indigenous justice system further support the notion that crime is a local event, and that a centralized policy of governance is insufficient in bringing "justice" to the "crime" problem. These illustrations reinforce democratic principles of governance, emphasizing and practising within this very important principle that government, having obtained its mandate to rule from the people, should also be accountable to the people. As a democratic system of justice the Igbo indigenous justice system emphasizes the involvement and empowerment of the people in social control.