WILBERFORCE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (WJSS)
ISSN: 2504 – 9232
Volume 5, No. 1, March 2020
Pages 24-51
DOI: 10.36108/wjss/0202.50.0120
COMMUNITY POLICING AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF PEACE IN NORTH EASTERN NIGERIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF CIVILIAN JOINT TASKFORCE IN ADAMAWA
ABDULRASHEED ABDULYAKEEN
Abstract
The paper assesses the role of Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF) in Adamawa State as an important tool for community policing and consolidation of peace in North Eastern Nigeria. Adopting a mixed-method and utilizing the conflict transformation theory as an analytical framework, the paper reconciles/recognizes individuals or groups at mid-levels and persuades them to embrace peace and foster reconciliation. Using the involvement phenomenon/strategy, every ethnic and religious group in the CJTF was engaged and their presence in every community helps reduce the level of fear, suspicion, prejudice and resentment amidst hitherto adversarial groups. The finding reveals the absence of CJTF will not be highly consequential to the peace achieved in the study area, due to challenges within the CJTF. The paper recommends that government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals who are well-to-do should support efforts of the CJTF financially, and that CJTF needs to periodically organize training for its members, as well as other stakeholders in the principles of strategic-community policing.
Keywords: Community policing, peace and security, partnership and conflict, Adamawa, Nigeria