ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF VICTIM MEDIATION PROGRAMME ON THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Victim mediation (VM) is gaining attention as restorative justice, alternative to Nigeria’s traditional adversarial system often is bedeviled by delays, emotional detachment, and lack of victim participation. Previous studies have highlighted global success of VM; there is limited research on its effectiveness in the Nigerian context. This study investigated the role of VM in promoting justice, healing and social harmony in Lagos State, with a view to examining mediation outcomes and challenges of traditional court process and assessing public awareness, mediator availability, and trust in mediation and adjudication processes. Cross- sectional design was adopted. Stratified sampling was used to collect data from 200 respondents across five groups: victims, offenders, mediators, law enforcement/law professionals and the general public. Data were elicited using structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews; all ethical considerations were observed. Data were subjected to descriptive and inferential analyses, using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Participants in mediation reported higher satisfaction, fairness, emotional relief and accountability as compared to those in traditional systems. Correlation and regression analysis showed a strong positive relationship between trained mediator availability, awareness of restorative justice, and trust in mediation. 65.2% of respondents agreed that mediation supports healing and reintegration, while 72.6% believed it fosters better understanding between victims and offenders. These findings underscore that VM has significant potential to improve justice delivery; hence, the need for increased investment in training, infrastructure, and public sensitisation to expand its implementation across Nigeria’s justice system. Keyword ; Restorative justice , victim-mediation , retributive justice , emotional detachment Word count; 238