REFLECTIONS ON THE APPLICABILITY OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN THE SIT-AT-HOME IMBROGLIO IN THE SOUTH-EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria has had a checkered history since her political independence from Britain in 1960. Evidence of this includes endless agitations over imbalances in political structure, coups and counter coups, three year Nigerian/Biafran civil war and the increasing demands for resource control. Much of these events and agitations were enmeshed in violence leading to massive abuse and violations of human rights. For instance, the state responses to what the agitators regard as legitimate demands for equity in the post-civil war Nigeria gave rise to feelings of persecution of the Biafran ‘freedom fighters’ more than decades after the war ended in 1970.It appears the three Rs (reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction) peace building framework has failed and the ‘no victor no vanquished’ slogan remains notional. It is obvious that the normal system of justice will be ineffective in remedying the perceived injustice associated with the civil war (1967-1970); hence the need to invoke transitional justice. Transitional justice refers to ways countries or nations arising from conflicts and or systematic human rights violations address these massive violations which ostensibly overwhelm the normal justice system. The struggle for self-determination of Southeastern Nigeria or the people of Igbo extraction has continually evolved though different dimensions and has now crystalized around Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (MNK) -the self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The arrest of MNK opened up a new dimension to the self-determination quest leading to sit-at-home (SAH) order in Eastern Nigeria by certain persons or group of persons allegedly loyal to MNK and his organisation. The SAH has virtually affected every sphere of human activity in the region and beyond. The rule of law and social justice are now endangered species in the region. In this imbroglio, can transitional justice bridge the gap and be the anchor needed for legal and socio-economic justice, peace, reconciliation, and political balance in Southeastern Nigeria? The researchers reviewed existing literature in the field and found that transitional justice has been of value to some other African countries embroiled in this type of quagmire. It is recommended that Transitional justice be adopted with the sole aim of restoring societal equilibrium particularly in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.