Beyond Law Making: Law Enforcement as a Critical Tool In Tackling Fulani Herdsmen Crisis In Nigeria

• Author: O.B. Ekundayo
• DOI: 10.10520/ejc-lesotho_v27_n1_a4
• Published date: 01 January 2022
• Date: 01 January 2022
• Pages: 81-159

BEYOND LAW MAKING: LAW ENFORCEMENT AS A

CRITICAL TOOL IN TACKLING FULANI HERDSMEN CRISIS

IN NIGERIA

Ekundayo O.B.*

Abstract

The communities in the middle-belt region of Nigeria have been

exposed to violent attacks by Fulani herdsmen for about two

decades. The attacks to which thousands of people have lost their

lives and several other displaced have gradually degenerated to

a state of chaos threatening national security. The on-going

security turmoil in the middle belt mirrors the failure of law

enforcement and implementation in the country. Whereas these

attacks amount to criminal acts including murder,

manslaughter and arson there has been no commendable effort

towards arrest, trial and sentencing of culprits. The link

between crime and punishment is severed hence difficulty of

ending the attacks. The inadequacy of criminal enforcement and

punishment which accounts for the high rate of crime and

insecurity in the country amount to breach of the constitutional

obligation of government to preserve security of lives and

properties and fundamental human rights of the people. This

study examines Fulani herdsmen attacks from the perspective of

criminal law enforcement as tool for preserving social order and

security. Although the government of the various concerned

middle belt/North Central states have enacted anti-gracing

laws, law enactment alone will not suffice to curb crime hence

the incessant nature of the attacks. The aim of this study is to

proffer proactive solutions to the farmer-herder killings in the

middle belt region of Nigeria. This is with the objective of

ascertaining factors responsible for the failure of existing

criminal legal system in tackling societal crimes incidental to

the herdsmen crisis and to deter further attacks. The study

82 LLJ Vol. 27 NO. 1

examines various narratives to the Fulani-herdsmen crisis and

theoretical perspectives on crime and punishment. The study

found the inadequacy of law enactment in the country, the

current federal policing structure, erosion of communal dispute

settlement system and general lack of political will as

responsible for the problem. The study recommends review of

the criminal justice system to update relevant laws and proper

implement of applicable law laws as the crimes committed in the

course of the attacks are all recognised under existing laws.

Keywords: Collective Agreement, Collective Bargaining, Employee,

Labour, Nigeria,

INTRODUCTION

In, seeks to as of employment.

1

Criminal justice system exists in every political society to maintain

social order. It sets the limits of behaviour that is acceptable, specify

penalty for exceeding those limits and prevent individuals from

resorting to jungle justice or revenge. Behaviours outside the

acceptable limits often constitute crime or misdemeanour. Crime is

a breach of societal norm which attracts punishment. Modern

society exists as a political order where the people submit their

personal liberty to government and accept the restrained liberty

specified by political authorities. Hence every member of the

society enjoys equal legal rights and liberty. Therefore when a crime

is committed it affects the personal liberty of the victim which was

usurped by the suspect for selfish interest as well as the societal

*Ph.D, Department of Private and Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, Bo wen

University, Iwo, Nigeria.

83

liberty disrupted by the behaviour which exceeds acceptable

specified limits.

2

Punishment is the process whereby a person who commits moral

wrong is sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the law

recognising the wrong doing and specifying the penalty it attracts.

3

Because crime affects both the victim and the society, punishment

seeks to protect the victim‘s interest as well as the social well-being.

The objectives of punishment include Deterrence, Retribution,

Restoration, Rehabilitation, Reformation and Incapacitation. The

importance of deterrence in crime prevention cannot be over

emphasized. Scholars have contemplated the possibility of

deterrence being considered as the foremost objective of criminal

justice system as opposed to retribution.

4

Whether the ‗special

deterrence‘ which prevents the offender from committing other

crimes in future or ‗general deterrence‘ which punish the offender

as a scapegoat to discourage other members of the society from

partaking in crime.

5

Although it is impossible to completely prevent

commission of crime in any society because crime is a natural

societal occurrence as such not every member of the society is

capable of being deterred. However, punishment reminds the

people that there are consequences for committing crime as such the

vast majority of the people can be deterred from partaking in crime.

However, the various objectives of criminal justice can only be

2

Thomas Hobbes, On The Citizen, Richard Tuck & Michael Silverthome

(eds.) (Cambridge University Press 1998) (1642) 26-31

3

Garland. D, Punishment and Modern Society (Oxford, England: Oxford

University Press 1990)17

4

Gerald V. Bradley, Retribution: “The Central Aim of Punishment‖ (2 003) 1

(27) Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 19-21

5

Andenaes J, ‗General Prevention Revisited‘ (1975) 66 Journal of Criminal

Law and Criminology 338