House Of Justice Identifies Causes Of Nigeria’s security challenges, Proffers Solutions

COMMUNIQUE OF THE 9TH HOUSE OF JUSTICE SUMMIT & GOLDEN BALL BANQUET.

THEME: SECURITY, JUSTICE & NATIONAL RE-ORIENTATION.
Objective of the Summit & Banquet: To establish national and regional causes and challenges to Security and Justice delivery, re-orient on values and find real and sustainable solutions to insecurity and institutional injustice.

Rationale: Since 2009, Nigeria and its neighbours Tchad, Niger and Cameroon grapple with unprecedented security challenges such as Boko Haram terrorists’ attacks, militancy, terrorist banditry and kidnapping   for ransom. The Justice system in Nigeria and most parts of Africa face many challenges such as transactional justice, inordinate delays in court proceedings, corruption especially but not limited to election cases, case congestion, abuse of discretionary powers, obstacles to access to justice, punitive approach to civil matters.

NIGERIA’S SECURITY CHALLENGES, SOLUTIONS AND ACTION POINTS.

Nigeria’s security challenges are geo-strategic and orchestrated by militias, insurgents, non-state actors, recruitment of security personnel through opaque and sentimental procedures rather than merit. These factors are contesting Nigeria’s statehood and claims for legitimacy.

Insecurity is conflated by contradictions. There are ungoverned spaces in border communities and in areas that are assumed to be governed. Non-state actors now thrive in both governed spaces and areas which ordinarily should be deemed ‘governed’. There is more emphasis on institutional accountability while enabling those who perpetrate insecurity escape both personal liability and accountability for mass atrocities.

There are morally bankrupt persons who see insecurity as a business venture. Government and security agencies know some of these persons through intelligence gathering and reports but there has not been concerted efforts to deal with the lifeblood of insecurity i.e the financiers of insecurity.  Civilian informants who give information to the security agents are sometimes not protected. Some communities shield criminal elements.

Nigeria has repeatedly failed to hold electoral offenders to account. Electoral crimes are rarely punished according to Law and conflicts brew and simmer as a consequence of unresolved electoral disputes. Some African countries mirror Nigeria’s electoral failings.

There is more program emphasis by the government on perpetrators rather than victims and this has made insecurity a lucrative venture. Displaced communities have not been re-settled and justice is far from the reach of victims. Communities are unable to build resilience due to absence of support from the government and sometime victim communities find the insurgents more ‘sympathetic’ than the government that neither prioritize welfare nor security of the people.
RESOLUTION OF THE SUMMIT ON SECURITY
Solutions to insecurity should be multidisciplinary due to the assymetric and multi-dimensional causes of insecurity.  There needs to be cooperation by Nigeria and neighbouring countries in resolving insecurity strategically while efforts should be put in place to prevent incursion into areas that have not been affected by insecurity. The recruitment process for security agents should be transparent and based on merit. Government shall ensure governance is experienced at all levels. Visual and virtual security interventions shall be enhanced. Personal accountability for perpetrators of insecurity shall accompany institutional accountability. Electoral crimes shall be punished according to Law. Where votes do not meet the electoral value percentile, there should be a re-run. The Independent National Electoral Commission should constitute of persons who are above board.
Border communities should be enlightened on national consciousness. Proper advocacy on national identity will strengthen community base border security which will enhance intelligence gathering, natural surveillance and will stifle the influx of weapons upon which non-state actors rely on.

NIGERIA’S JUSTICE CHALLENGES, SOLUTIONS AND ACTION POINTS.

Nigerian justice system is yet to be systematic. There is need for justice delivery reforms, improved accountability and court efficiency.
There is the growing perception that justice in Nigeria especially during elections is transactional. These perceptions have sometimes been substantiated by  the experiences of electoral court users.

There are concerns about the diminishing authority and respect for the justice sector due to the capture of the judiciary by family dynasties, politicization of appointments and the profiling of the Judiciary as corrupt.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sometimes conducts elections that are not free and fair and citizens who pay huge price to vote, have the Courts usurping their right to choice as the Courts cast the deciding vote over the people’s choice.

The Justice sector is not Nigeria’s strongest link. Justice delivery is not often timely nor efficient and measures by the National Judicial Council are not often strong enough for in-house cleansing and self- regulation.

RESOLUTION OF THE SUMMIT ON JUSTICE
The Nigerian Justice system needs to be efficient. There is need for judicial reforms and systematic and timely justice delivery. The justice system in Nigeria and Africa should dispense justice according to law. The National Judicial Council and citizens shall hold the judiciary to account. Judicial appointments should be apolitical and shall not devolve by ‘inheritance’ family or filial ties or through any primordial sentiments. The Justice sector shall be independent and shall be the pivotal institution that holds all other institutions accountable.

NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENCY (NOA) CHALLENGES, SOLUTIONS AND ACTION POINTS
The family is the basic and the most fundamental unit of the society. There is a continuing loss of supervisory roles of instilling values that make children accountable while the dignity of labor is relegated in favor of wealth without enterprise.

There is a violation of national ethics of discipline, integrity, dignity of labor, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism as codified in Section 23 of the Nigerian Constitution.

There is a deficit of ethics in leadership, character and virtue, service, honesty and respect while community building continue to diminish as standard for holding leadership to account.

The National Orientation Agency and the Ministry of Information have not set an agenda for positive outlook of the country, consequently what citizens and the children are inundated with are the negative narratives and this is shaping their interaction and outlook on the country.

RESOLUTION OF THE SUMMIT ON NATIONAL RE-ORIENTATION
There should be civic spaces and platforms that citizens engage public office holders for greater accountability. This will encourage trust for state institutions. It should include engagement with people who represent the values of Nigeria and have served the country through their profession with integrity and dignity. There is the need to re-calibrate the minds of Nigerian youths from internet fraud, internet wealth related murders and “ get-rich-quick” syndromes.
Advocacy through skits on national ethics and principles should be used to enhance integrity, honesty, truth, justice, dignity of labor, love for neighbor and country and respect for ethics, values, rules and regulations.
Family and community values and etiquettes that are in tandem with national culture should become part of our education curriculum. Student should be publicly awarded in both character and learning.

THE SUMMIT CALLS FOR NATIONAL TRAUMA HEALING FOR VICTIMS OF MASS ATROCITIES.
The Nigerian state and her neighbours have recorded advanced and extensive mass atrocities that have immensely traumatized not just the victims but the country at large. Many victims and citizens live in fear. When government and institutions do not respond to the plight of victims, their trauma intensify resulting in complications. The absence of justice for  victims make  some of yesterday’s victims transit into today’s combatants. Victims lack safe spaces to exhale their trauma and to de-escalate tensions. Rehabilitation, recovery and reintegration programmes have been setup by the government for offenders while the victims are stationed in internally displaced persons camps which are sometimes re-attacked by terrorists. Abandonment and lack of attention to traumas is daily impacting and scarring lives and communities.
Recurrent memories of violent experiences are dangerous for the victims and living with the experiences exacerbate the healing process of the victims.
There are too many victims living with primary trauma which affects the persons victimized by the event of mass atrocity and secondary trauma, which affects relatives and other witnesses of terrorism. Healing processes have not been properly designed and implemented. Consequently, trauma is being transferred because it is not transformed to healing.

Institutions, particularly formal agencies are prioritizing material palliation while trauma healing has been left out of the equation. Children are growing with experiences that are fraught with violence and mass destructions as a consequence of this neglect and it is shaping their lives and determining their responses. This is dangerous for the nation.

RECOMMENDATIONS ON TRAUMA HEALING
Community-based and structured reconciliation forum should be initiated to push for restorative justice in communities that are experiencing both intercommunal and ethno-religious conflicts. There should be more focus on programs for victims than perpetrators. The Government shall ensure security and welfare is primary in line with Section 14 2 (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Psycho-social healing for primary and secondary victims should be prioritized as material palliation. There is the need to set up trauma response centres across communities that have suffered terror and in places of worship. It is imperative to disaggregate trauma-healing nuggets in easily understood and used formats so victims can have access to the information and tools for their healing.
The National orientation agency should advocate for a day to celebrate the resilience of victims and victim communities. The Government shall depoliticize the handling of victims of mass atrocities such as projecting them to the public to score cheap political points when they should be debriefed and undergo healing procedures. Wearing asoebi for victims as though their victimhood is a national treasure should be discouraged. Responses that involve the concerted effort of professionals and enable the healing of victims shall be highly prioritized. Trauma is real but healing is possible.

   Next Summit & Banquet Date : Friday 28 November, 2025
For More inquiry:
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Chairman of the Summit & Banquet: Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd), Former Chief of Defence Staff & Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria, Force Commander of the African Union, United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
Convener/Host: Gloria Mabeiam Ballason Esq, C.E.O. House of Justice/Principal Partner MIVE Legals (Ballason Chambers)
Keynote Speaker: Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Professor of Practise of International Human Rights, Tufts University, Massachusetts, U.S.A, Former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Nigeria.
Panel Discussants:
Prof. Chris Kwaja, Country Director, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Hon. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, Ph.D, Former Minister of Water Resources, Nigeria
Grp. Capt. Sadeeq Garba Shehu Rtd, Fmr Ag. Head of the African Union on Security & Safety Services
Dr. Mike Omeri, OFR, Fmr. Director  General, National Orientation Agency
Mr. Chima Christian, Executive Director, Africa’s Morning
Exclusive Banquet Discourse : Creativity & Nation Building
Special Guest: Audu Adamu Maikori Esq, Chairman Chocolate City Group.
Plenary Speakers: Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, SAN, Principal Partner, J.S.Okutepa SAN & Co
Commissioner of Police Kaduna State : CP Muhammad Rabiu represented by ACP Badamasi Musa, Area Commander, Kakuri Area Command, Kaduna.
Date  Summit & Golden Ball Banquet Held: 29 November, 2024 09hrs- 13hrs, 16hrs – 20hrs

Rapporteurs: Luka Ashafa Odita, Lecturer, Criminology & Security Studies Kaduna State University.
Mr. Godwin Ochai, Graduate,  Police Academy Wudil Kano State &  Student, Nigeria Law School, Bagauda Campus, Kano State.
Steven Swante Iliya, Program  & CSR Officer, House of Justice.