Abstract

The study undertakes a qualitative enquiry into the adoption of indigenous restorative justice system (IRJS) by the people of Apata-Aje Community of Kwara State, Nigeria in crime-related disputes. Eighty-Four members of the community (76 users and 8 practitioners of the system) participated in the study. They were selected through convenience and purposive sampling techniques. In-depth interview was the adopted method of data collection while thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Results indicate that the inadequacies of the legal institutions made people of Apata-Aje Community defy the formal criminal justice system (CJS) by not reporting crime-related disputes directly to the police, and by recognising and approving IRJS as a method of justice administration. The study suggests that as countries around the world move towards a restorative approach to justice administration, there is a need for public debates across Nigeria on the prospects of incorporating IRJS into the contemporary CJS.

摘要

该研究对尼日利亚夸拉州 Apata-Aje 社区的人民在犯罪相关纠纷中采用土著恢复性司法制度 (IRJS) 进行了定性调查。84 名社区成员（76 名用户和 8 名系统从业者）参与了这项研究。他们是通过方便和有目的的抽样技术选择的。采用深度访谈的方式进行数据收集，采用专题分析法进行数据分析。结果表明，法律制度的不足使得 Apata-Aje 社区的人们不直接向警方报告与犯罪有关的纠纷，并承认和批准 IRJS 作为一种司法管理方法，从而蔑视正式的刑事司法系统 (CJS)。