Ethical Problems of Conducting Research and Building Peace in Conflict Environment: Example of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria

The study examines the incessant cases of ethical challenges in research and peacebuilding in the Nigeria’s conflict environment. Due to rampant corruption and lack of specific national ethical framework, and regulatory committee and resources that have affected societal values and culture of ethics and integrity, peace and conflict researchers and practitioners are prone to unethical conducts. Some are committed knowingly and unknowingly. This aspect of professional life has not been closely scrutinized, let alone proffers suggestions to. Perhaps, ethics frameworks and administrations are just beginning to be mainstreamed into development work in most part of the world. Therefore, drawing qualitative data from a wide range of personal, career and desk top sources from the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, which is the government’s apex agency saddled with the responsibility of investigating causes and dynamics of conflict, and advising decision makers on best policy alternatives, build peace and engage in advocacy, the study identifies numerous ethical problems that include copy and paste, manipulations of data, unhealthy competition/rivalry among researchers and peacebuilding practitioners working in the conflict field. The research uncovers approaches the institute adopted to ameliorate the problems and promote ethical standards among its research and peacebuilding teams that included trainings and constant reminders of the need to protect the integrity of individuals in the team and the Institute as well as the need to project a good image for the country. The inability to re-think ethical regime and legal norms in the country could fuel violent conflict and terrorism, and militate against the goals of conflict management in the country that is seriously desirous of peace and security.