Reconstructing Atrocity Crime Evidence: Forensic Methodologies for Transitional Justice in the North East Conflict

Transitional justice mechanisms addressing mass atrocities require forensic science methodologies capable of establishing the evidentiary foundations for accountability proceedings, reparations programmes, and historical documentation. This doctoral study develops and critically evaluates forensic methodologies for atrocity crime evidence reconstruction in the context of the North East Nigeria armed conflict between 2009 and 2024. A multi-disciplinary forensic investigation design was employed, integrating forensic anthropological survey methods, satellite imagery analysis, witness testimony corroboration protocols, and documentary evidence examination across six sites in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States where credible accounts of mass casualties have been documented. The study applies International Committee for Missing Persons standards and International Criminal Court evidence protocols to assess the feasibility and evidentiary quality of evidence reconstruction under Nigerian operational conditions. Findings demonstrate that forensic evidence reconstruction is feasible at five of the six surveyed sites, with surface and sub-surface skeletal evidence recoverable at each using non-invasive geophysical survey methods. Forensic anthropological analysis of recovered remains from two sites enabled biological profile determination in sixty-one percent of individual cases. The study makes original contributions to transitional justice forensic methodology by adapting international protocols to the specific ecological, security, and cultural context of North East Nigeria. An original Atrocity Crime Forensic Reconstruction Protocol for Nigeria is proposed, incorporating community engagement, security risk management, and culturally appropriate remains repatriation procedures. Keywords: atrocity crime, transitional justice, forensic anthropology, North East Nigeria, conflict forensics.