Thesis and Dissertations

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Browsing Thesis and Dissertations by Author "Emmanuel Changkwak, Jonah."

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    Development of the Judiciary in the Colonial Plateau Province: A Study of the Lowland Division 1900 - 1960
    (Department of history,nassarawa state university,keffi., 2010-08-06) Emmanuel Changkwak, Jonah.
    This study is an examination of the development of judiciary in the Lowland Division of Plateau Province during Colonialism. It emphasizes the establishment of various Native Courts and their areas of jurisdiction, description of court room and case studies. The research also examines pre-colonial judicial practices among the groups in the division, and the extent it was affected by the colonial judiciary system. The research depended very much on oral interviews conducted among the various ethnic groups. The research also used Archival materials got from the National Archive Kaduna, and some published works. It is discovered that the colonial judicial system was very much dependent on the traditional authority and judiciary structures. Much of the traditional customs were adopted in the colonial system. The paramount chiefs were empowered by the colonial means of coercion - the courts, judges, police, Native Authority and the prisons. Colonial government was emphatic on the judiciary system in order to force people to conform, live in peace and create conducive atmosphere for colonial economy to boom. The colonial rule was partly enforced by the courts, which legacy continues. To approach the topic, the first chapter is the theoretical framework defining the study, its objectives, research questions, and literature review. Chapter two gives a historical background of the various groups in the Lowland. Chapter three analyses the pre-colonial judiciary system. Chapter four then discusses the colonial conquest and administration. Chapter five examines the colonial courts and justice. The concluding chapter is the summary and other inferences. xiv