Administration of justice in colonial Ilesa, Southwestern Nigeria, 1900-1960

Abstract

The Ijesa and the various nationalities that live in Southwestern Nigeria had systems for the administration of justice before the advent of British colonial rule. From the communal courts, age-grade systems and adjudication by adult members of the community directed by the elders in Igboland, to the court of the Oba and his chiefs in Yorubaland and Benin kingdom to settle disputes, there was always a system of administering customary law, which embodied societal norms and morals. The laws administered were accepted standards of usage and practice of the nationalities, mirroring precisely the stage of development of the respective nations. The advent of British colonial rule led to the introduction of the English Common Law and the whole paraphernalia of English judicial process in Ilesa. Although a number of works exist on the judicial history of colonial Ilesa, what has not been emphasised sufficiently is the role of the imported English legal system in the establishment and sustenance of British imperium in the area. This paper, therefore, critically examines the administration of justice in colonial Ilesa, namely, from 1900, when Ilesa came under British colonial rule to 1960, which marked the end of colonial rule. It highlights the motives behind the changes in the town’s judicial system and the role of the courts in the administration of justice. An attempt is also made to evaluate the impact of the colonial judicial system on the town’s social and political development during the period under review.