WEST AFRICA
Nigeria
Restorative Justice in Nigeria
The restorative justice infrastructure in Afikpo in eastern Nigeria evolved from the culture’s family structure and primary community groupings. It provides cost-free participatory and effective justice to local populations sometimes far removed from state-sponsored institutions of justice.
Informal Policing in Nigeria
A 2003 study assessed poor people’s perceptions of safety, security, and informal policing structures in four states in Nigeria. Previous survey data indicated that the majority of Nigerians consider the official police to be both corrupt and ineffective. In response to the inability of the official police to adequately protect citizens from crime, people living in poverty have set up a number of informal policing structures (IPS).