The Ethics of Traditional Medical Practice Among the Igala People of Kogi State

This study examines the philosophical and ethical dimensions of traditional medical practice among the Igala people of Kogi State, situated in Nigeria's North Central geopolitical zone. Traditional medicine remains the primary source of healthcare for many Igala communities, yet its ethical principles, including concepts of healing authority, patient consent, confidentiality, and the moral obligations of traditional healers, have received little systematic philosophical attention. Using a descriptive ethnophilosophical design, the study draws on oral tradition interviews with 20 traditional healers and 15 community health workers in Idah and Ankpa local government areas, supplemented by secondary literature on African medical ethics published between 2020 and 2024. The study applies African Ubuntu ethics and Western bioethics frameworks, including the four principles approach of Beauchamp and Childress, to analyse the ethical structure of Igala healing practice. Findings reveal that Igala traditional medicine operates within a complex moral framework that emphasises the healer's communal accountability, the spiritual dimensions of illness, and the participatory role of the patient's family in treatment decisions, creating an ethic of relational care that differs from but is not necessarily inferior to Western bioethical norms. Recommendations include the formal recognition of traditional medical ethics in Nigeria's national health policy framework. Keywords: traditional medicine ethics, Igala, bioethics, African philosophy, Kogi State.