Ini Dele-Adedeji

Ini Dele-Adedeji’s research focusses on the intersections of social movements, political violence, and transitional justice. Concepts such as “bare life” (Giorgio Agamben) and “necropolitics” (Achille Mbembe) serve to conceptualize the precarious existence of individuals in camps, prisons, and spaces between state control. Dele-Adedeji supplements these analyses with his examination of silence and silencing as historical constants in Nigeria’s political culture, revealing the ambivalences between the state’s unified narrative and marginalized voices. The juxtaposition of local practices in Northern Nigeria with other African and global contexts sheds light on social negotiations that are effective in processes of reconciliation and justice. In doing so, he not only problematizes universalizing models of law and reconciliation and contributes to the global history of transitional justice debates. He also makes an important contribution to the question of how sustainable peace orders can emerge in pluralistic societies.

Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconciliation in Northern Nigeria: Community-Driven Approaches for Sustainable Peace

My research investigates community-driven transitional justice in Northern Nigeria, focussing on how localized transitional justice frameworks can promote sustainable peace and resilience in post-conflict societies. The Boko Haram insurgency has left deep sociopolitical fractures in northern Nigeria, necessitating approaches that align with the cultural context of affected communities. Traditional transitional justice models, often judicial or semi-judicial, have limited effectiveness within grassroots settings, where socioeconomic challenges intersect with culturally embedded concepts of justice.
Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from anthropology, sociology, and political science, my study will, among other things, conduct comparative analyses, leveraging field data from Northern Nigeria and similar contexts like Kenya to examine the inclusion of youth and gender within transitional justice mechanisms.
The research is anchored theoretically in critical and decolonial frameworks, assessing how transitional justice models must be adapted to Nigeria’s unique sociopolitical dynamics. With this research, my aim is to develop policy recommendations and offer actionable insights into culturally sensitive transitional justice practices that could support enduring peace in the Lake Chad Basin region and beyond.

2018 PhD Politics and International Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS), United Kingdom
2011 MA Security and Intelligence Studies, University of Buckingham, United Kingdom
2009 BA Law (LL.B.), University of Buckingham, United Kingdom

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Durham University, United Kingdom

With A. Virk and E.-U. Nelson. “The Challenge of Youth Unemployment in Nigeria”. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy 39, no. 3 (2024): 319–29.
With P. M. Frowd and E. Apard. “Quasilegality and Migrant Smuggling in Northern Niger”. Trends in Organized Crime 26, no. 4 (2023): 379–96.
With L. Ireland and G. Klantschnig. “Resolving Friction in the Tramadol Economy in Nigeria”. Drugs, Habits and Social Policy 24, no. 4 (2023): 310–19.