Compare the judicial system of the pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani Society with that of the lgbo Society.
Question 1 Report
Compare the judicial system of the pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani Society with that of the lgbo Society.
Answer Details
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.
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