ISLAMIC APPRAISAL OF ZAUREN ṢULḤ (RECONCILIATION FORUM) AS CONFLICT RESOLUTION MECHANISM IN BAUCHI STATE (2003 TO 2018)

Abstract

As long as people live together, they might have their individual or collective interests, opinions, thoughts, tastes and beliefs to defend or guard, and in the course of protecting any, it may lead to a dispute. The effort of Sharī’ah Commission Bauchi State to adopt a device mechanism for resolving conflict amicably through the use of Islamic sources yielded great impact on the one side, and it faced some challenges on the other hand. This research investigated Zauren Ṣulḥ as a conflict resolution mechanism in Bauchi State. It employed the method of interview based on open-ended questions. The findings of the research show that, there are a lot of irregularities and discrepancies that affected the conduct of the programme. Thus, the research concludes that, despite the activities and tremendous achievements on cases of reconciliation in all the branches of Zauren Sulh, the state is not different from other Shari’ah states in term of crises here and there, like abduction, youth thugs, and rampant cases of divorce. The Annual Progress Reports of Sharī’ah Commission Bauchi State shows that the cases are increasing and the reasons responsible for this include the large crowd of emigrants of neighboring states like Plateau, Borno and Yobe who ran from their areas for safety of their lives, due to the ethnic and religious crises in their states. Moreover, on daily bases people who choose to take their complaints to Zauren Sulh rather than courts are increasing. Finally the study recommends measures to address the challenges faced by the Institution. Among the measures are: the Sharī’ah Commission Bauchi State should reform the framework of the programme to ensure its smooth conduct.