State-Led Security Operations Versus Community-Led Mediation Processes in Managing Violent Conflict in Taraba State: A Comparative Discourse

Authors: Nebeife, Chigozie Joesph, Ph.D, Onwuanibe Jude Onyedikachi, Ph.D & Ogbobe Emmanuel Okafor

Volume: 7 | Issue: 1 | Year: 2026

Abstract

Taraba has witnessed persistent communal violence, often characterized by farmer-herder clashes and ethnic rivalries, leading to significant loss of life, displacement, and socioeconomic disruption. This study presents a comparative discourse on the efficacy of state-led security operations versus community-led mediation processes in managing violent conflicts within Taraba State, Nigeria. The focus is to critically analyze and contrast the approaches, outcomes, and long-term sustainability of these two dominant conflict intervention strategies. Relying on Hybrid Governance Theory and Ex-post facto research design and analysis, the findings indicate that while the community-led approach may lack the immediate coercive power of the state, it offers a more sustainable, inclusive, and culturally sensitive pathway to lasting peace by fostering local ownership and social cohesion. Thus, paper recommends that the Taraba State government should initiate and implement a more integrated, hybrid conflict management model that strategically combines the necessary security framework provided by the state with the deep rooted legitimacy and sustainability inherent in community-based mediation.