Edu Rekha International Journal of Arts, Law and Social Science
Volume- 2 Issue-3 (May-June) 2026
MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF INDIGENOUS FINANCE: ETHICAL CHALLENGES OF AJO IN IBORO COMMUNITY, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA.
TIMOTHY O.E. POPOOLA, PhD1* & BARNABAS OLUSEGUN DARAMOLA2
View PDFPage: 01-05Abstract
This paper examined the relationship between moral accountability and the sustainability of indigenous finance, with specific reference to Ajo in Iboro community. Ajo, a long-standing rotating savings and credit arrangement among the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria, has traditionally operated on trust, shared responsibility, and communal reputation rather than formal legal enforcement. In recent years, however, concerns have emerged within Iboro regarding contribution default, weak documentation, leadership opacity, and declining communal sanctions, raising questions about the long-term stability of the system. The problem addressed in this study was the gradual erosion of moral responsibility among participants and coordinators, which has begun to undermine trust and collective confidence. The study focused on Ajo operations within Iboro community, examining issues of transparency, accountability, reciprocity, and social enforcement. A qualitative approach was adopted, drawing on semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, and relevant scholarly literature on indigenous finance and moral economy. The findings revealed that although Ajo remained economically useful and socially valued, its sustainability was increasingly threatened by economic hardship, shifting social values, and inadequate accountability structures. The study concluded that strengthening moral discipline, transparent record-keeping, rotational leadership oversight, and community-based dispute resolution mechanisms are essential for preserving both trust and continuity in indigenous financial systems.
Key Words: Ethical Challenges, Indigenous Finance, Moral Accountability.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF VICTIM PROTECTION
Clieverd Jery Tasane1*, Juanrico Alfaromona Sumarezs Titahelu2 & Sherly Adam3
View PDFPage: 06-13Abstract
Sexual violence against women is one form of human rights violation that has multidimensional impacts on victims, both physically, psychologically, socially, and economically. The high rate of sexual violence indicates that the law enforcement system has not yet fully provided effective protection to victims. The presence of Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Sexual Violence Crimes is an important milestone in the reform of Indonesia’s criminal law because it comprehensively regulates the prevention, handling, protection, and recovery of victims. However, in its implementation, law enforcement against sexual violence perpetrators still faces various obstacles, both at the investigation, prosecution, and trial stages. This study aims to analyze law enforcement against perpetrators of sexual violence against women from the perspective of victim protection and to identify obstacles in its implementation. This research uses a normative juridical method with a legislative approach, a conceptual approach, and a case approach. The sources of legal materials consist of primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials that are analyzed qualitatively. The research results show that law enforcement against perpetrators of sexual violence crimes is not yet fully oriented toward victim protection because there is still a legalistic paradigm that emphasizes punishing the perpetrator more than rehabilitating the victim. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the victimological perspective within the criminal justice system so that victim protection can be realized optimally.
Keywords: Law Enforcement, Sexual Violence, Women, Victim Protection.
Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence as Determinants of Administrative Discretion and Decentralisation in Nigeria
Onamah Ojodomo Godwin, PhD
View PDFPage: 14-25Abstract
This study critically examines the intersection of digital governance, administrative discretion, decentralisation, and artificial intelligence (AI) in Nigeria from a public administration perspective. Nigeria stands at a critical juncture where three transformative governance reforms digitalisation of public services, decentralisation of authority to local governments, and deployment of AI for administrative decision-making are unfolding simultaneously, yet their interconnections remain undertheorised and empirically underexplored. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of policy documents, case studies of AI deployment in anti-corruption and local governance, and secondary data from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) operations, the study identifies a fundamental paradox: digital governance and AI offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance transparency, reduce administrative discretion arbitrariness, and strengthen decentralised accountability, yet their effectiveness depends critically on the very institutional capacities and political will that digitalisation is supposed to overcome. The study finds that AI deployment in Nigeria has achieved measurable gains in fraud detection (47-50% increase), investigation timeline reduction (50-65%), and asset tracing (78% increase in recovery value), but these gains are systematically constrained by data quality problems (30-40% false positive rates), technical infrastructure weaknesses (15-20% system downtime), personnel skill gaps (less than 50% capability utilisation), legal uncertainty, and political interference affecting 15-20% of high-profile cases. The study concludes that digital governance and AI can catalyse genuine administrative transformation, but only when deployed as part of integrated institutional reforms addressing data governance, capacity building, legal frameworks, and political accountability.
Keywords: Digital governance, artificial intelligence, administrative discretion, decentralisation, Nigeria, public administration, anti-corruption
Federalism and Challenges of National Integration in Nigeria, 2020-2025
Dr. Okonkwo, Clement Nwafor1* & Chinyere Ikeh PhD2
View PDFPage: 26-31Abstract
The study observed that Nigeria adopted federal system of government to ensure coordination and independent administration of the component regions and interrogated the nexus between federalism and national integration in Nigeria between 2020 and 2025. Expost facto research design was adopted, secondary data were collected through documental method of data collection and the collected data were analyzed using content analysis. Theoretically, the study utilized the Marxian Theory of social production and reproduction of material value. The theory asserted among others that the primary need of man is economic and the efforts for actualization of the needs are always social in nature, where the participants are always selfish in pursuing the production goal. Therefore, the selfish nature of the regions in satisfaction of their needs made them to invoke ethnic, religious and some other sentiments to thwart the common goal of national integration in the country. However, the study suggested that muli-principles of revenue derivation and political re-orientation to help redirect the needs for proper management of ethnic and religious differences in the country to enhance national integration in Nigeria.
Keywords: Ethnic Group, Federalism, National Integration, Nepotism and Religious Crises
APPLICATION OF CRIMINAL SANCTIONS IN CASES INVOLVING THE PROCUREMENT OF COVID-19 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) UNDER LAW NUMBER 31 OF 1999 AS AMENDED BY LAW NUMBER 20 OF 2001
Yacob Yonathan Pical1*, Margie Gladies Sopacua2 & Jetty Martje Patty3
View PDFPage: 32-36Abstract
The study observed that Nigeria adopted federal system of government to ensure coordination and independent administration of the component regions and interrogated the nexus between federalism and national integration in Nigeria between 2020 and 2025. Expost facto research design was adopted, secondary data were collected through documental method of data collection and the collected data were analyzed using content analysis. Theoretically, the study utilized the Marxian Theory of social production and reproduction of material value. The theory asserted among others that the primary need of man is economic and the efforts for actualization of the needs are always social in nature, where the participants are always selfish in pursuing the production goal. Therefore, the selfish nature of the regions in satisfaction of their needs made them to invoke ethnic, religious and some other sentiments to thwart the common goal of national integration in the country. However, the study suggested that muli-principles of revenue derivation and political re-orientation to help redirect the needs for proper management of ethnic and religious differences in the country to enhance national integration in Nigeria.
Keywords: Ethnic Group, Federalism, National Integration, Nepotism and Religious Crises
Ethical Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Accounting and Financial Decision-Making
Mojisola Oladunni Jacob-Udeme
View PDFPage: 37-52Abstract
Artificial Intelligence has significantly transformed accounting and financial decision-making by improving automation, analytical precision, fraud detection, forecasting, and operational efficiency within modern commercial environments. Intelligent computational applications increasingly support auditing, taxation, reporting, budgeting, and strategic evaluation, thereby reshaping professional accounting practice and institutional operations. Despite these advantages, ethical concerns relating to computational distortion, confidentiality breaches, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, procedural opacity, and unclear accountability continue to challenge responsible technological deployment. Automated analytical systems may unintentionally reinforce discrimination, weaken transparency, and reduce stakeholder confidence when sufficient safeguards are absent. Technological expansion has also altered workforce structures, competency expectations, and professional identity within accounting environments. Sustainable integration, therefore, requires principled governance, ethical supervision, continuous professional development, regulatory coordination, and human-centred operational frameworks. Responsible modernisation depends on balancing computational capability with professional judgment, fairness, interpretability, and institutional accountability to preserve public trust, organisational legitimacy, and ethical financial practice within increasingly digitised global ecosystems.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Technological expansion, Professional judgment, Modernisation, Financial practice
Several Reflections on the Interdependence Between Politics and Administration
Prof. Jacek Zieliński, PhD, DSc
View PDFPage: 53-58Abstract
Administration and politics have complex faces. They are internally intricate and change over time. Regardless of this, at every moment they remain connected to the state, its political system, and the citizen. Politics has also another dimension that complicates the analysis of its relationship with administration: its partisan nature. This is a multifaceted issue, hence the title—“several reflections.” We commonly refer to Aristotle and Montesquieu and their (subjective and objective) tripartite division of power, as well as the assertion that administration operates within the limits of the law and in execution of the law. Yet everyday practice shows that this does not hold. One cannot separate the executive or judicial branches from the legislative branch, since the first is defined as acting within and in execution of the law, and the second as adjudicating on the basis of the constitution and statutes. They are therefore functionally linked to the legislative power.
In this text, I aim to identify sensitive elements of the connection between administration and politics, including partisan politics. I also seek to point out the permanent elements of the political system that are not always consistent with the intentions of its creators.
Keywords: administration, politics, partisanship, civil servants, law, electoral law, proportional allocation of mandates.
School, Home, and Cognitive Factors Shaping Primary Pupils’ Attitudes and Academic Achievement: A Narrative Review
Idris Olasunbo Busari1*, Nkechi Ngozi Ewunonu2 & Zainab Olayinka Jimoh3
View PDFPage: 59-66Abstract
Primary pupils’ attitudes toward schooling and academic achievement are influenced by multiple interrelated factors that extend beyond individual ability. This narrative review examines the combined influence of school, home, and cognitive factors on pupils’ educational experiences and outcomes. Empirical and theoretical literature indicates that school-based variables, such as peer relationships, friendship networks, classroom climate, teacher disposition, and emotional support, significantly shape pupils’ motivation, engagement, and achievement. Home-related factors, including parental involvement, educational expectations, learning resources, and family support, contribute substantially to academic success by fostering positive learning habits and self-regulation. Cognitive factors, particularly attention, memory, language processing, executive functioning, and metacognitive skills, further influence pupils’ capacity to benefit from instructional opportunities. The review also highlights the importance of targeted cognitive interventions for learners with special educational needs, including auditory processing difficulties and executive functioning challenges. Findings suggest that academic achievement and attitudes toward schooling emerge from the interaction of supportive school environments, active family engagement, and responsive cognitive support systems. The paper argues that educational success is best understood through a multidimensional framework that recognises the interconnected roles of teachers, parents, peers, and learner characteristics. Implications are discussed for educational policy, teacher preparation, inclusive practice, and future research aimed at improving learning outcomes and promoting lifelong educational engagement among primary school pupils.
Keywords: Academic achievement; Attitude toward schooling; Cognitive factors; Parental engagement; Primary education; School climate; Teacher disposition; Inclusive education
Abstract
Gender-based violence is a form of human rights violation that impacts not only the physical health of victims but also their psychological, social, and economic well-being. To date, the handling of gender-based violence cases in the criminal justice system has tended to focus on punishing the perpetrator, while the victims’ recovery needs are often under-recognized. Therefore, the restorative justice approach presents an alternative that emphasizes recovery, dialogue, and the perpetrator’s responsibility for the impact of their actions.
This study aims to analyze the application of the restorative justice approach to the protection and recovery of victims of gender-based violence and to examine its relevance within the Indonesian legal system. The research method used is normative legal research with a legislative and conceptual approach, supported by a literature review related to gender-based violence and restorative justice policy.
The results indicate that restorative justice has the potential to provide a safer space for victims to share their experiences, gain recognition for their suffering, and obtain just redress. However, its application to cases of gender-based violence requires caution, particularly to prevent re-victimization, unequal power relations, and pressure on victims. Therefore, the implementation of restorative justice must be accompanied by principles of victim protection, professional assistance, and clear regulations. This study concludes that a restorative justice approach can be a complementary instrument in addressing gender-based violence as long as it is placed within the framework of protecting victims’ rights and does not neglect law enforcement against perpetrators.
Keywords: Restorative justice, gender violence, victim protection, criminal justice system.
Inclusive Enrolment and Retention Pathways for Students with Disabilities in Higher Education
Teresa Onyemah*, Esther Ojo, Beatrice Adebunmi, Aishah Odenike, Favour Ogidan, Suliyat Olaleye, Oyindamola Ayorinde, Racheal Omoaruna, Aliyah Banjoko & Udeme Jacob
View PDFPage: 73-81Abstract
Inclusive higher education extends beyond access to ensure that students with disabilities (SWDs) are supported in their participation, persistence, and successful graduation. This review examines enrolment and retention pathways through a conceptual and policy-informed review of disability inclusion in higher education. Drawing on the social model of disability, the capability approach, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and international frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG 4), the article explores how structural, institutional, pedagogical, psychosocial, and digital factors influence student experiences. Particular attention is given to the relationship between access, participation, and completion, highlighting the need for systemic approaches that move beyond accommodation toward inclusive design and institutional transformation.
Keywords: Inclusive higher education, students with disabilities, enrolment and retention, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), disability inclusion, accessibility and student support system
A Human-Centered Mixed Economy Model: The Institutional Sustainability of Middle-Class Welfare in the Age of Robotic Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Siddik Arslan
View PDFPage: 82-104Abstract
The age of robotic artificial intelligence, by raising for the first time the prospect of large-scale substitution of both physical and cognitive labor, structurally challenges the historical centrality of human labor upon which the modern economic order is built. This study aims to develop a holistic theoretical response to the question of how economic productivity, human dignity, middle-class sustainability, the social state, democratic legitimacy, and nation-state capacity can be preserved together in an era in which the economic centrality of labor is weakening. The study adopts a normative political-economy approach that combines historical-comparative analysis, transdisciplinary theoretical synthesis, comparative institutional model analysis, and scenario-based strategic foresight. Within this framework, it diagnoses the tendency of the robotic age to generate digital capitalism, technological feudalism, and a new class structure encompassing data elites and the cognitively precarious; it then analyzes the structural limits of classical liberal capitalism, the neoliberal paradigm, the traditional welfare state, and the unconditional universal basic income approach, and conceptually constructs a human-centered mixed economy model in response. The proposed model rests on complementary institutional pillars: a national robotic welfare fund, a fair tax architecture adapted to robotic productivity, participatory and cooperative ownership structures that broaden access to the means of production, the socialization of algorithmic rent through data cooperatives and a data dividend, a lifelong reskilling infrastructure, and a new framework of economic citizenship that makes the citizen a constitutive partner in the system. The model’s robustness is further tested against major counter-theses and through a multi-scalar (national, regional, and global) governance dimension. The central claim is that, when equipped with appropriate institutional instruments, the robotic transformation can cease to render unemployment a structural fate in any nation-state, so that high productivity and broad-based welfare are no longer alternatives. The study’s original contribution lies in offering a universally adaptable, human-dignity-centered institutional architecture that integrates scattered policy proposals around a single constitutive logic.
Keywords: Robotic artificial intelligence, human-centered mixed economy, middle-class welfare, post-labor society, robotic welfare state, economic citizenship.
JEL Sınıflaması: O33, J24, H53, P16, D63, E24.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A PHILOSOPHICAL EXAMINATION OF CONCEPTS, ROLES AND CHALLENGES
AUDU, Nancwat Montex, PhD
View PDFPage: 105-111Abstract
The main thrust of this paper was to examine the meaning, roles, justification and challenges of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. The paper described an entrepreneur as someone who ventures by taking risks into planning, organizing and coordinating a business to make profit by either producing goods or rendering services. Entrepreneurship education is defined as a process of adjustment which involves the development of the social and economic efficiency of individuals by upgrading their thought pattern, and focusing on training students on how to develop positive attitudes, innovations and skills for self- reliance. National development is described as the change in growth and development of a country which includes social, cultural and economic change observable in equal living standard for all, equal distribution of income and capital, expansion of facilities – health, education, infrastructures among others. Promotion of economic development by increasing Gross Domestic Product, creation of immediate large scale employment and reduction in Rural – Urban drift etc are identified as role of entrepreneurship to national development. Low competence of entrepreneurship education lecturers, absence of curricular capacity to support training, non-favourable policy environment among others are identified as challenges of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. Creation of entrepreneurship friendly environment by the government, development of entrepreneur internship programme, establishment of an enterprise college are among others suggested for tackling challenges of entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
Keywords: Entrepreneur, Education, Entrepreneurship education, National development
INTERPLAY BETWEEN DIGITAL TOOLS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF RESEARCH ETHICS IN RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP: IMPLICATIONS FOR ACADEMIC PRACTICE
Aminu Garba Aminu Ph.D1*, Ahmad Salihu Amin Ph.D2, Ashafa Ibrahim Sani3 & Kabiru Uba Ibrahim Ph.D4
View PDFPage: 112-118Abstract
The rapid and widespread adoption of digital tools in academic research has profoundly reshaped the ethical foundations of contemporary scholarship. This transformation is especially significant in religious and social science disciplines, where research often involves direct engagement with human subjects, deeply held belief systems, cultural traditions, and sensitive moral values. As digital technologies increasingly mediate how data are collected, analysed, stored, and disseminated, long-standing ethical principles are being redefined and, in some cases, challenged. This paper critically examines the dynamic interplay between digital research tools and the evolving nature of research ethics within religious and social science scholarship. Using a conceptual and analytical approach grounded in existing scholarly literature, the study explores how emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence, digital and online archives, virtual survey platforms, social media–based data sources, plagiarism-detection systems, and collaborative digital research environments—are transforming ethical considerations related to informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, authorship and intellectual ownership, data integrity, and overall academic responsibility. The paper reveals that while digital tools offer significant opportunities for efficiency, accessibility, inclusivity, and global scholarly collaboration, they also introduce complex ethical challenges that traditional research ethics frameworks are often ill-equipped to address. Issues such as data misuse, misrepresentation of religious narratives, erosion of researcher accountability, and overreliance on automated systems demand renewed ethical reflection. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for adaptive and context-sensitive ethical guidelines that respond to the realities of digital scholarship. It also highlights key areas for further research aimed at strengthening ethical awareness, protecting research participants, and ensuring responsible, credible, and culturally respectful academic practice in the digital age.
Keywords: Digital tools, Research ethics, religious studies, social science research, Academic integrity, Digital scholarship
Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials for Effective Teaching and learning in Public secondary Schools in Kano State
Muhammad Mudassir Hussain Ph.D1*, Abdulhadi Zubairu Yakubu Ph.D2, Salisu Bashir Chiroma3 & Aminu Yusuf4
View PDFPage: 119-124Abstract
Abstract
This study examined the availability and utilization of instructional materials for effective teaching and learning in Public Secondary Schools in Kano State. The study adopted the descriptive research survey design. In order to achieve this purpose, two (2) research questions and two (2) hypotheses were postulated. The population of the study was 2,651 teachers drawn from the 36 Public Secondary Schools in Kano State. The sample size was 530 teachers which is 20% of the total population using the simple random sampling technique. The research instrument was a self-designed questionnaire titled “Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials for effective Teaching and learning”. The Questionnaire comprised of two sections; Section A and Section B respectively. Section A elicits information on the personal data of the respondents, while Section B had items aimed at providing relevant information in respect to the research questions. The questionnaire items were designed on a four-point Likert rating scale. The instrument was validated by the experts in research and tested for reliability using Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient. A reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained. The study revealed that visual instructional materials are available for effective teaching in Public Junior Secondary School in Kano Metropolis. Also, the study further revealed that visual instructional materials are utilized to a High Extent (HE) for effective teaching in Public Junior Secondary School in Kano Metropolis. It was recommended among others that there should be provision of visual instructional materials in all the Public Junior Secondary Schools in Kano Metropolis of Kano State. This will enhance effective teaching and learning.
Keywords: Availability, Utilization, Instructional Materials, Teaching and learning