INTER-COMMUNAL CLASHES AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN NIGERIA: AN ANALYSIS OF ALADJA AND OGBE-IJOH BOUNDARY DISPUTE IN DELTA STATE
Keywords:
Boundary dispute, Conflict resolution, Communal conflict,, Delta StateAbstract
Communal conflicts constitute serious threat to human security and development. Aside that, communal conflicts have the tendency to be interminable. Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh boundary dispute has escalated to be one of the most violent conflicts in Delta State, Nigeria. It has claimed several innocent lives and property destroyed since the conflict broke out in 1995. While multiple commissions and panels have been established to investigate and recommend solutions, the conflict continues to claim lives, disrupt communities, and perpetuate suffering. In the same vein, several peace accords have been reached and broken by both communities. It is in this light
that the paper examined the Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh boundary dispute and provided peaceful ways of resolving the conflict. The paper was based on desk research and relied majorly on secondary sources of data. It adopted Realism theory for its theoretical framework. The paper found that lack of political will to implement the report of the multiple panels, vested interest from both communities against the government efforts in resolving the dispute, and selective acceptance of report by the worrying communities have been the major challenges of resolving the boundary dispute between these communities. The paper therefore recommended that Delta
State Government should take immediate action to map and delineate the boundary between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities to forestall further bloodshed.
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