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Home  /  Africa   /  Restorative Justice: An Examination of Justice as It Should Be by Professor Don John Omale (Nigeria)-February 2022
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  • Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi
    February 8, 2022

    In my recent experience to experiment the doctrine of restorative justice bringing the offender and the victim together I concluded that it is not possible in all Cases.
    Criminal may want to use the avenue to escape justice without true repentance.
    In a recent case in Igbeba Costudial Centre, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. We came across a woman who was alleged of killing her husband of 11 months marriage through fighting. The deceased stabbed his wife and the wife over powered her husband and stabbed him severally, neighbors carried two of them to the nearby hospital and the nearby hospital rejected both of them and they were directed to the government hospital, getting to the general hospital they were both treated but 3 days after the husband died, the lady was charged for murder. She has spent 3years in the prison on trial. I just picked interest in the case to see how we can bring Restorative Justice into practice, I collected the phone contact of the father of the deceased when I put the call across to him and I asked him to grant me audience, the man asked for my details and the purpose. I introduced myself to him as pastor and my organization and what we do, I disclosed to him that we want to come and visit him in respect of the case of……. I didn’t land when he gave it back to me that we should never bother to come, he was so hostile to me on phone. I pleaded with him to cut the phone with the promise to call him back. About a month after I called him again his response was the same. With my experience in this particular case it may not be the same in all cases but it may be difficult to apply Restore justice in some cases. Thou we have success story in some cases.

    • RJI Staff
      March 24, 2022

      Hezekiah, it certainly is difficult at times to bring victims together with offenders or their families. Applaud your efforts. Sometimes the family members of the deceased need a great deal of time to process the death of their loved one. Perhaps what the father needed most of all is someone to listen to his story and hear of his pain. Neutral parties, as you were, approaching the victims’ family member is critical. You sound like were neutral. We have also found that sometimes healing occurs years later even as long as 20 years. But the victims or victims’ family members still are looking for accountability.

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