Hague Institute Unveils New Guidelines for Katsina Land Disputes
Katsina is moving from the courtroom to the mediation table to end its cycle of rural violence. The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) unveiled new guidelines on Friday to resolve land disputes and the perennial farmer-herder conflicts plaguing the state. This initiative, launched at the Ministry of Justice in Katsina, forms part of the “Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria” (SPRING) programme. Funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the project aims to bypass the formal judiciary’s gridlock through community-based resolution.
Mediation is the new primary tool for rural stability. HiiL’s Country Representative, Ijeoma Nwafor, noted that the project spans four volatile states: Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, and Benue. In each state, 600 individuals have been trained to handle disputes before they escalate into bloodshed or expensive litigation. The objective is simple: reduce the burden on overstretched courts while rebuilding the social trust necessary for lasting coexistence.
These guidelines provide a roadmap for the state’s new legal reality. Abdurrahman Buhari, Director of Citizens’ Rights at the Katsina Ministry of Justice, urged stakeholders to ensure the full implementation of the manual. This document is designed to complement the peace initiatives of Governor Dikko Radda, who recently signed the Katsina State Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Law 2025. Justice is no longer viewed solely as a verdict from a bench, but as an agreement reached between neighbours.
Institutional support is already in place to host these talks. The state has established the Katsina Mediation Centre and adopted a Standard Operating Procedure to streamline access to justice for rural dwellers. By formalising ADR, the government is providing a legitimate alternative to the “self-help” violence that often defines land contests. If successful, this model could turn Katsina into a blueprint for resolving resource-based conflicts across the North-West.
The success of the SPRING programme depends on local ownership. The 600 trained mediators act as the first line of defence against communal fractures. By empowering community leaders with structured negotiation tools, the HiiL initiative targets the root causes of friction rather than just the symptoms. Fairness and understanding are the expected outcomes, replacing the “winner-takes-all” mentality of traditional litigation.
Security in the state is increasingly tied to land reform and dispute management. Governor Radda’s administration appears to recognise that a purely military approach cannot solve what is essentially a socio-economic struggle for resources. These guidelines represent a “soft power” shift. If the Ministry of Justice can successfully deploy its trained mediators to the state’s flashpoints, Katsina may finally see a decline in the tit-for-tat violence that has displaced thousands of its citizens.