By Bakura Umar

European Union has resolved a total number of 14,141 disputes under its alternative dispute resolution programme to rebuild peace among communities across insurgency-troubled Borno State.

The Technical Lead Managing Conflict in Nigeria project of the British Council, Dr Ukoha Ukiwo, said 18, 420 of the disputes were resolved through traditional rulers.

The project is funded by European Union, supported by the British Council and implemented by the Managing Conflict in Nigeria(MCN).

Dr Ukoha said in Maiduguri that the 5-year programme, which began in 2017, trained 952 traditional rulers in the state on dispute resolution.

He said the training enhanced their alternative dispute resolution capacity to enable them mediate before they escalate to violence.

“This project enabled traditional rulers to understand the limitations of their powers and which cases need to be referred to other authorities,” the Technical Lead disclosed.

“The most common types of cases are family related followed by disputes over land and property,” he disclosed further, explaining, “Around 30 percent 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.”

Speaking, the Director of Women Affairs, Borno State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Falimata Umaru Lawan, thanked European Union and its partners for their laudable programmes and assured them of the state government’s sustenance of all the projects.

She also thanked the MCN for initiating the two additional Sexual Assault Referrals centres that would provide immediate medical and psycho-social support to the victims and survivors of SGBV and capture information and evidence required for forensic medical reports for use in the prosecution of offenders.
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