This Initiative is Leading Transitional Justice for Conflict Survivors in North East Nigeria

The day the insurgents attacked in 2014, eight-year-old Aisha Awagana’s home was filled with quiet anticipation. Her mother, Bintu, was heavily pregnant, resting on a mat while Aisha played with her grandmother, giggling as the old woman scolded her for being too restless. It was a normal day—until the gunfire began.

There had been whispers of strangers gathering on the outskirts of Bama, a rural community in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. No one knew who they were or what they wanted, but unease crackled in the air. When the gunshots rang out, sharp and relentless, the truth became clear—Boko Haram had arrived.

Since 2009, the terror group has ravaged the region, tearing through communities, especially in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. The conflict has claimed an estimated 350,000 lives, leaving behind shattered families and a deep well of grief. Entire towns have been levelled, and those who survive carry scars, both seen and unseen.

Aisha remembered the chaos on that day. Her father, Muhammad Awagana, grabbed his mother’s hand, scooped Aisha into his arms, and turned to Bintu, who clutched her belly in pain.

“My mother’s contractions had started,” she recounted. “When my father tried to encourage her to move, she insisted that we should go ahead and leave her.”

With his daughter, mother, and sister in tow, Muhammad led them into the unknown, explosions rumbling behind them. They wandered through the wilderness for two weeks, scavenging for food and water.

“At night, my father would stand guard while his mother, sister, and I huddled together beneath trees, listening to the distant echoes of war,” Aisha told HumAgle.

A week into their escape, they encountered a group of armed men. From their appearance and demeanor, she suspected they were Boko Haram fighters. “The men demanded that we go back to where we came from,” she recounted. 

With no other choice, they turned back. But every path was fraught with danger. When they finally reached the outskirts of Konduga, about 25km southeast of Maiduguri, a brief sense of relief washed over them—only to be shattered moments later. Another group of insurgents emerged from the shadows, surrounding them.

“One of them pointed at my father,” Aisha recalled. “Before I could react, two others grabbed him, forced him to the ground, and pressed a knife to his throat.”

The details of that day remain seared into her memory, each moment replaying like a nightmare that never fades.

“My grandmother clutched her chest, gasping,” she said. “My aunt grabbed her hand and told me we had to leave—if my grandmother saw what was happening, she wouldn’t survive it.”

Aisha’s world broke apart after witnessing the knife on her father’s throat, she remembered the way the tears streamed down her face as she let herself be pulled away. They ran as her father’s screams slowly faded away. 

Her mother was also nowhere to be found.

She spent five years in a displacement camp in Maiduguri. The laughter and joy of childhood left her after the trauma she witnessed. However, in 2019, a visitor came to the camp. Though covered in dust and frail, Aisha recognised her—it was her mother. After years of separation, they were reunited at last.

At 19, Aisha is rebuilding her life in Maiduguri with her family, supported by Green Advocacy for Conflict Prevention and Resilience Building (GACRB).

Localising transitional justice 

Established in 2021, GACRB is a non-profit organisation and think tank dedicated to fostering sustainable peace and social cohesion in West Africa. Its primary focus is the localisation of transitional justice initiatives in societies affected by protracted conflict.

One of its core efforts is ensuring access to reparations for victims of the Boko Haram insurgency, such as Aisha and her family. GACRB’s partnership with the Borno State Agency for Social Investment led to a strategic communication initiative that promoted awareness of the National Social Investment Register through radio jingles in local languages, including Hausa and Kanuri.

“It was through the radio jingles that we realised one of the requirements for victims and survivors of the Boko Haram insurgency to access national reparation or empowerment was to be registered on the national social investment register,” said Aisha.

Since its establishment, GACRB with support from Africa Transitional Justice Fund (ATJLF) and the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) has been implementing several other inclusive and social cohesion projects, leveraging traditional mechanisms for social justice.

The transition 

Although the Boko Haram insurgency is not yet over, its backbone has been broken. The group’s fragmentation following the death of key leader Abubakar Shekau in 2021 led to defections. As a result, many people previously held captive or displaced by Boko Haram violence have regained their freedom. However, they remain destitute, requiring urgent care and assistance.

Stories like Aisha’s are neither new nor rare. Thousands have lost family members, livelihoods, and homes. While they struggle to build back their lives, many struggle with the idea of reconciling with terrorist deserters. 

“He who has witnessed the calamity that drove us from our homes will not agree to live in the same community as the perpetrators,” said Bulama Hussaini, a conflict survivor and community leader in Gogolon, Borno State.

GACRB is working to prepare communities for the reintegration of terrorist deserters under the Borno Model through continuous engagement with traditional rulers, restoring trust in governance, and strengthening service delivery, using the Sulhu Sai Da Adalchi approach to peace and reconciliation. 

The Borno Model is a comprehensive and localised Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration (DDR) programme for former Boko Haram associates. Over 93,000 individuals, fighters, their families, and others linked to them, have surrendered to authorities in Borno State.

The governments of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States have been working to address the massive challenges left in the wake of the insurgency. However, lasting peace and recovery cannot happen without addressing the legitimate grievances of affected communities—those who have suffered immense loss and trauma. 

‘Sulhu Sai Da Adalchi’

To drive reconciliation, GACRB is implementing the Sulhu Sai Da Adalci approach.

Since Boko Haram justified its violence using distorted Islamic teachings, GACRB believes that countering extremism must be rooted in authentic Islamic principles. Sulhu Sai Da Adalchi fosters reconciliation through religious narratives that uphold justice and fairness.

“The affected communities and individuals are mostly mainstream Muslims, and to detoxify the mindset of young people at risk of future recruitment by extremist groups, we adopted the mainstream Islamic narratives to counter the violent extremist narratives,” Professor Mala Mustapha, the Founder and Executive Director of GACRB, told HumAngle.

Elizabeth Delibe, a participant of GACRB’s Sulhu Sai Da Adalci told HumAngle that the project helped her heal from the trauma of losing her husband to abduction by the Boko Haram insurgents.

“After being provided with the space to speak out and learning about alternative narratives to what the Boko Haram Insurgents claimed, such as the Qur’anic verses that established the obligation on muslims to observe justice and fairness in their conduct and relations with others and those verses that prohibit injustice and transgression, I really got a sense of satisfaction that my husband’s life won’t go in vain,” she told HumAngle.

Amina Auwal, who is also a beneficiary of GACRB’s Intervention in Adamawa State, said the project is working to mainstream gender into the transitional justice process.

“The project has made efforts to address the needs of marginalised groups like women, where it is working to translate the VAPP [Violent Against Persons (Prohibition)] Act into local languages, which means alot to many of us because most of the victims of Gender-based Violence in our communities are illiterate and have no idea how to access justice. So the mere translation of the laws creates awareness on how to access justice,” Amina said. 

Despite its impact, GACRB faces significant challenges. One major hurdle is securing funding, one of its current donor support will expire in two years. Another challenge is urging the Borno State Government to expedite reintegration efforts, providing a real-world test for GACRB’s social cohesion programme.

“Our long-term goal at GACRB is to support a broader implementation of the Borno Model that will lead to full scale transitional justice in the state,” said Prof. Mustapha.

This story is done in collaboration between HumAngle Media and Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) as part of a project amplifying transitional justice efforts in North East Nigeria.