For decades, Plateau State in Nigeria's Middle Belt has witnessed repeated ethnoreligious violence. Over this period, both state and federal governments have established formal Commissions of Inquiry (COIs) in response to unrest, tasked with investigating violence, identifying perpetrators, and – ultimately – strengthening accountability. While commissions’ mandates and specific outcomes varied, there is general consensus that inquiries have been largely ineffective at securing justice or establishing accountability for violence. This study seeks to understand the expectations placed on, and role of, COIs in Plateau State as pathways to formal accountability in a context of recurring violence. We argue that COIs are embedded in the complex, multilevel networks and politics of state and non-state institutions. Civil society, in turn, has diverse expectations and demands, and articulates these in fragmented ways. As a result, COIs served primarily as another avenue for interest-based negotiations.

中文翻译：

---

尼日利亚高原州的调查委员会和问责途径

几十年来，尼日利亚中部地区的高原州屡屡发生种族宗教暴力事件。在此期间，州和联邦政府都建立了正式的调查委员会 (COI) 以应对骚乱，其任务是调查暴力、查明肇事者，并最终加强问责制。尽管委员会的任务和具体结果各不相同，但普遍的共识是，调查在确保正义或确立暴力问责制方面基本上无效。本研究旨在了解对高原州 COI 的期望和作用，作为在反复发生的暴力背景下实现正式问责的途径。我们认为，COI 嵌入在国家和非国家机构的复杂、多层次的网络和政治中。反过来，民间社会，有不同的期望和要求，并以零散的方式表达这些。因此，COI 主要用作基于利益的谈判的另一种途径。