Oath-Taking and Rituals in Conflict Resolution in Nigeria

This study examines Nigerian oath-taking and ritual practices for dispute resolution. It explores the role of these indigenous systems in the nation’s complex legal pluralism, where they coexist with and often conflict with the British colonial-era state judiciary. The study shows that these practices are resilient due to their pragmatic response to the widely perceived failures of the official justice system—corruption, delay, and cultural alienation—and their deep-rooted cosmological foundations that view justice as a spiritual-communal undertaking aimed at social restoration. Using secondary literature from anthropology, law, and sociology, the study identifies a basic issue: an uncontrolled cohabitation that generates a justice duality. Critical conflicts between the systems’ worldviews, procedures, and aims result from this dualism. Oath-based procedures are accessible, culturally intelligible, and restorative, but they create serious ethical and legal issues about human rights, gender discrimination, procedural fairness, and supernatural sanction’s psychological pressure. The study examines how ancient rituals adapt to modern surroundings despite religious contestation and commercialisation. Suppressing these ancient processes would alienate citizens and reduce justice, hence it is not practical or desirable. The study suggests a strategic change toward managed, integrative pluralism. A national policy framework, state-level legislation to regulate and recognise competent traditional institutions, unambiguous human rights safeguards and appeal routes, and targeted capacity-building for traditional adjudicators are recommended. The study argues that only through constructive engagement can Nigeria harness the strengths of its indigenous restorative justice heritage while aligning with constitutional democracy and fundamental rights, creating a more coherent and legitimate justice ecosystem for all its citizens.