By Olukayode Idowu
European Union (EU) said it has resolved a total of 14,141 disputes in Borno State through the traditional institutions.
The resolved disputes were from 18,420 recorded cases and this has encouraged dialogue among disputants and brought peace to their communities in the state which has had Boko Haram crisis for over a decade.
The project was funded by European Union, supported by the British Council and implemented by the Managing Conflict in Nigeria (MCN).
The Technical Lead, Managing Conflict in Nigeria project of the British Council, Dr Ukoha Ukiwo disclosed this during the official closure of the MCN Programme implemented by the British Council and funded by the European Union between 2017-2022 in Borno State.
He said that MCN enhanced the alternative dispute resolution capacity that encourages and facilitates mediated outcomes to disputes before they escalate or turned violent.
Ukiwo said: “This project enabled traditional rulers to understand the limitations of their powers and which cases need to be referred to other authorities. We trained traditional rulers and community groups in Borno State and have resolved 14,141 disputes out of 18,420 cases from the emirates between February 2018 and November 2022.
“The most common types of cases are family related, followed by disputes over land and property. Around 30% of cases are brought by women, more of whom now see the traditional Justice system as fair to everyone, with evidence of the historical patriarchal system.”
He stressed that the projects had strengthened the capacities and security management actors including 951 traditional rulers in the four emirates of Borno, Biu, Dikwa and Gwoza.
Also speaking at the event, the Director of Women Affairs, Borno State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Falimata Umaru Lawan thanked European Union and its partners for laudable programmes and assured them that the Borno state would sustain all the projects.
She also thanked the MCN programme for initiating the two centres that would provide immediate medical and psycho-social support to the victims and survivors of SGBV and capture information and evidence required for forensics medical reports for use in the prosecution of offenders.