Compare the judicial system of the pre-colonial... | WAEC SSCE - Government - 1988 (Essay)

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Compare the judicial system of the pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani Society with that of the lgbo Society.

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The pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani and Igbo societies operated very different systems of administering justice, reflecting the difference between a centralised and a segmentary political system.

Hausa/Fulani judicial system	Igbo judicial system
It was centralised and hierarchical, with the Emir at the apex as the final court of appeal.	It was decentralised and non-hierarchical; there was no single supreme judge over all communities.
Justice was administered by professional judges (the Alkali) trained in Islamic law.	Justice was administered by councils of elders, family heads, age-grades and the Ozo title-holders, not by professional judges.
The law applied was the Sharia (Islamic law) based on the Koran.	The law applied was customary law based on the traditions and taboos of the people.
There was a graded system of courts, from village courts up to the Emir's court.	Cases were settled at family, kindred and village-assembly levels, and by secret societies or oracles for difficult cases.
Punishments were prescribed and enforced by the authority of the Emir and the state.	Judgements rested on consensus and on the sanction of public opinion, oaths and the fear of the gods.
Religion (Islam) and the judiciary were closely fused.	Religion featured through oracles (such as the Aro long juju) and oath-taking, but justice was largely communal.

Points of similarity. In both societies the aim was to maintain peace and order, elders and experienced men played a part in adjudication, and both allowed some form of appeal, whether to the Emir in the North or to a wider assembly or oracle in Igboland.

Read lesson note on Pre-colonial Political System Of Candidates’ Respective Countries (WAEC)

Pre-colonial Political System Of Candidates’ Respective Countries

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Compare the judicial system of the pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani Society with that of the lgbo Society.

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