THE CONTEXTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW IN WARS: THE CASE OF NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR 1967-1970

By: Olajide Olayemi AKANJI (akanjijide@yahoo.com, akanjio@run.edu.ng)
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REDEEMER’S UNIVERSITY, P.M.B.3005, REDEMPTION CITY, MOWE, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The year 1967-1970 is considered a dark period in the annals of the political history of Nigeria. This is because it was a period of civil war between the federal government of Nigeria and the government of the Republic of Biafra (formerly Eastern Region of Nigeria). However, in view of the nature of armed conflicts/wars certain rules of engagements touching on fundamental human rights of combatants and non combatants have been developed by the international community over the years. This paper is an analysis of the extent to which these international rules of engagements/law of war were maintained and respected during the Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970 particularly as these affected non combatants. The paper through detailed examination and content analysis of relevant extant literature establishes that there was an outright disregard for the law of war and basic principles of human rights during the war. Heinous crimes were perpetrated in gross violations of international standards. Lives and property were destroyed with impunity and the necessary distinction, as expected especially under the law of war, between non-combatants and combatants was for example ignored. The paper concludes that the extent of human rights and humanitarian law abuses during the war and the effectual post war reconstruction efforts to remedy the abuses have made it practically difficult for the nation to successfully close this ugly chapter of its history.

ARMED CONFLICTS AND STRATEGIES OF PROSECUTION IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF IFE-MODAKEKE, NIGERIA

The ubiquity of conflicts in Africa is underscored by the avalanche of analyses on the subject. While much attention has been placed on inter-state conflicts in many of the analyses, there is now a growing concern for the continued recurrence and resurgence of different kinds of intra-state armed conflicts particularly sub-ethnic and ethnic conflicts in the continent. This is due to the propensity of such conflicts to weaken state structure and promote state collapse. However, the emphasis in many of the analyses of intra-state conflicts in the continent has often centered on issues relating to causes/catalysts/triggers (both remote and immediate) and nature of the conflicts, while there is a yawning indifference to the strategies of prosecution of such conflicts. This paper thus attempts to remedy the strategies of prosecution lacuna in the literature on one of the few age long and protracted intra-state conflicts in Nigeria’s political history. The Ife-Modakeke conflict has its antecedent in the pre-colonial history of the Yoruba people. Actual hostilities between the communities involved started far back in 1849. Several reasons could account for the sustenance of the conflict till date. This paper using content analysis of historical documents alongside unstructured interviews of some actors of the post-colonial phases of the conflict examined and discovered that the strategies employed by both communities at different phases of the conflict have been a major force sustaining it. The paper identified oath taking, compulsory community contribution, language sorting/dialectal sorting, and mercenarism as some of the strategies employed.