Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, on Wednesday called for the review of the Nigeria’s judicial system to ensure sustainable peace and conflict resolution in the country.
Gambari made the call in his remarks at the 5th International Africa Peace and Conflict Resolution Conference hosted by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Abuja.
The theme of the two-day conference is: “Restorative and community justice: challenges, lessons and prospects.”
Gambari, a former UN Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues, also called for establishment of early warning mechanism as a means to ending injustice in the country.
He said: “I think it is time we have to review our criminal justice system in Nigeria because it is due for reform no one is happy about our criminal justice except the criminals.
“And we have to restore that balance not in favour but against criminals. Justice is imperative in the way of peace; any one denied justice has no interest in peace.
“You cannot have peace where there is no justice because people must have the feeling of closure, a feeling where violation of human rights is brought to justice.”
Gambari said that the importance of restorative justice and community-based systems for social accountability and response to criminal or violent conflicts could not be over-emphasised.
He stressed that restorative justice was a very important tool for peace and conflict resolution; noting that statistics showed that more than 50 per cent of resolved conflicts recurred due to injustice.
According to him, what the stakeholders and the international community should do is to establish peace that endures.
Gambari said: “In order words once peace is established it should be on solid foundation that will ensure that conflicts do not return.
“Restoration justice is a key element of peace building that endure and peace that is built on solid and creative institution.”
He stressed on the importance of early warning for the success of restorative justice.
According to him, beyond early warning there should be early action, early warning that is followed by early action.
He said: “There have never been shortage of warning but lack of action; what is important is not early warning, but early action and action that is proportionate to the threat to peace and security.
“There have never been shortages of commissions of inquiry but idea never implemented.
“So, we don’t have shortage of ideas but shortage of implementation of the recommendation and ideas that emanate from these commissions of inquiry and constitutional conferences.”
He, therefore, called for cooperation among the stakeholders to ensure justice.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Olusola Enikanolaiye, commended IPCR for being in the forefront of promoting peace and conflict resolution in the country.
Onyeama said: “We appreciate such roles bearing in mind the objectives of the conference which is to examine the status and efficacy of restorative justice and community based systems for social accountability and response to criminal or violent conflicts in Africa.
“The forum is also a consistent platform to link experiential and academic discourse to constructively influence policy decisions and enhance overall governance.”
The Director-General of IPCR, Prof. Oshita Oshita, said that “as an important part of peace building process, restorative justice focuses on healing building and rebuilding for both offender and victims.
Oshita said: “As part of the umbrella of peace building restoration of justice must mirror early warning issue that contributes to structure and systemic order that caused violent.
“Then there can be no other better time for reintegration other than now.”
He said that those propagating justice, peace building actors and civil society must have a meeting point when it comes to issue of building and justice restoration.