European Union Support for Justice Sector Reform in Benue State: A Professional Review

This research undertakes a professional review of European Union-supported justice sector reform programmes in Benue State, North-Central Nigeria. Benue State's justice sector has been under sustained pressure from complex farmer-herder conflicts, rising case backlogs, and resource constraints, and EU-funded access to justice programmes have sought to address structural weaknesses in formal and customary court systems. This applied study draws on EU rule of law programme documentation, Benue State Judiciary Annual Reports from 2020 to 2024, and secondary literature on justice sector development in North-Central Nigeria. In-depth interviews with legal aid practitioners, magistrates, paralegal workers, and EU programme implementing staff in Makurdi and selected local government courts provide primary data. The research reviews the professional design and implementation logic of EU justice reform interventions in Benue, examining whether programme activities, including mobile court deployments, legal aid outreach, and court infrastructure improvements, have reduced case backlogs and improved access to justice for rural and marginalised populations. The study also assesses how justice sector programming in Benue has responded to the security-related caseload generated by farmer-herder conflict. Findings contribute to professional practice in legal development and rule of law programming for EU-funded practitioners. Keywords: EU justice sector reform, Benue State, access to justice, rule of law, North-Central Nigeria.