The Igbo Indigenous Justice System

A specific variety of communitarian theory, African Communitarianism, requires specific obligations and interactions to provide just resolution after members of society have been harmed. In this reading, the justice system of the Igbbo people is described. Before colonialism, the Igbo people of northern Nigeria engaged in a form of governance that used concensus building, and participation (of primarily males) to resolve disputes. The theory also shares a belief in the preservation of human life, and individual rights, similar to the contractarianism of Locke. Consider how the Igbo justice system involves group membership in a way that can be compared and contrasted with other theories of justice we have studied.

Secret Societies in Igboland

Not every dispute or violation of the norms and laws is amenable to easy resolution. Complex cases are referred to secret societies, which are believed to have supernatural powers, and so are able to tell who is telling the truth and who is lying. When a secret society is invoked it is believed that every litigant or witness will tell the truth, as failure to do so before the masquerade can attract the punishment of death. Umozurike, describing the secret society of the Aro, notes that "the ekpe hardly fails when it is invoked to intervene in a dispute. Its fairness is usually assured because of its mystical powers to inflict evil on lying witnesses as well as on corrupt judges". In this context spirituality ensures truth in African societies. This is similar to the use of the Bible to swear on in court for witnesses who take the stand. While some of the rituals of African societies and justice models may seem unusual to Western observers, it is important to recognize that all societies have rituals and processes in which members of those societies participate.

In Afikpo the Okumkpo, a masquerade organized through the men's secret society, is a major agent of social control. While its role may be entertainment, the goal is really to address disputes or cases of a complicated and delicate nature. These are cases that are not amenable to regular court processes, yet they need to be addressed in the interests of village peace and harmony. Cases that the masquerade dramatizes include murder in which the accused may have sworn to the oath and survived, yet public opinion is strong that he or she is guilty of the offence, but was able to escape death through either manipulating the system or possessing other charms (spiritual powers) that counteract the power of the oath. Other cases that the masquerades address include the abuse of power by elders in their administrative and judicial functions. The masquerade performance is a trial in the court of public opinion within a humorous setting. The acts and songs are loaded with moral rectitude. They also play the role of investigating cases, and their evidence cannot be challenged. Because the masquerade performers wear masks they enjoy certain immunity from prosecution in whatever they say or do during the masquerade.