NGO builds mediation centre for Adamawa community
Story by Dajen Comfort Yakubu
A community mediation centre, Zauren Sulhu, has been handed over to the Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State as part of the €10.5 million European Union-funded COMITAS project.
The centre, built by Mercy Corps, is aimed at fostering sustainable peace and resolving conflicts between farmers and herders in the region.
Speaking during the handover ceremony on Tuesday, Tog Gang of the Technical Resources and Quality Unit at Mercy Corps said the mediation centre was designed to provide a platform for trained mediators to resolve disputes amicably.
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“The goal of the Zauren Sulhu community mediation centre is to offer an accessible resource for conflict resolution without litigation, guided by the laws of the land,” he said.
The Project Manager for the COMITAS II initiative under the International Organisation for Migration, Amos Nderi, lauded the establishment of the centre as a step towards sustainability and community ownership of the project.
He stated, “The COMITAS project has focused on strengthening traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, building trust in authorities, enhancing collaboration on natural resource management, and improving communal relations. This centre symbolises our efforts to leave behind structures that will have a lasting impact.”
Nderi revealed that the EU initially provided €4.5 million for the first phase of the project and an additional €6 million for the second phase, which expanded the initiative to Taraba State.
The Project Manager for the COMITAS II project at Mercy Corps, Emmanuel Melaiye, explained that the idea for the mediation centre emerged during consultations with local stakeholders in Girei.
“The centre was prioritised as a key solution for addressing the recurring conflicts between farmers and herders,” he noted.
The District Head of Girei, Dr Ahmed Mustapha, who inaugurated the centre on behalf of the state government and traditional institutions, lauded the EU and its partners for their efforts.
He stated that the intervention had brought relative peace to the community and strengthened traditional conflict mediation processes.
The COMITAS project, implemented in 2020 by a consortium including Search for Common Ground, IOM, and Mercy Corps, has addressed conflicts over natural resources in Adamawa and Taraba states.
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