Mnyim M Mwuese

It is pedestrian to opine that justice delivery in Nigeria in general and Benue State in particular is marred with avoidable delays. The need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the judicial system with a view to engendering quick administration of justice has necessitated the enactment of the State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2019 (the SACJL) by the Benue State House of Assembly. The SACJL, among other things, provides for plea bargain. Spurred by the desire to examine the extent to which the SACJL has enhanced speedy dispensation of justice through plea bargain, this article adopted the doctrinal method of research in which reliance was placed primarily on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the SACJL as well as judicial authorities. Reliance was also placed on secondary sources of information such as opinions of eminent scholars expressed in books and journals. It was found that though plea bargain is a veritable catalyst for speedy trial, its effective utilization is hamstrung by absence of a provision stipulating timelines within which to conclude the plea bargain process, insufficient legal practitioners in the Ministry of Justice and the legal department of the state police command to prosecute offences, especially as the SACJL now makes the duty of prosecution the exclusive preserve of lawyers, the non-inauguration of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (the Committee), and so on. It is advocated that the SACJL should be amended to provide 30 days within which to conclude the plea bargain process, more lawyers should, as a matter of urgency, be employed by the State Government and the police authority so as to make the process of plea bargain seamless and that the State Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee should be inaugurated without delay, among others.

Abstract
The trafficking or trade in persons for the purpose of forced labour, forced marriage, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual exploitation, organ harvest, ova harvest, and all manner of exploitation is a gruesome national and international problem with far reaching economic and legal implications. Though much efforts have gone into quelling the tide, reciprocal results cannot been said to have been recorded. The paper by the aid of doctrinal method has found that there are steep economic factors that perpetuate the trade in persons. These factors include poverty, rural and urban unemployment, corruption and the great promise of wealth that lies in the trade, which places illicit funds in the hands of perpetrators while further impoverishing government from loss of labour of the trafficked persons. The paper also found that though legislation exists for combating this menace, there are gaps within the legislation that must be closed to align the legislation with current situations. More so, the execution of the law where adequate is bedevilled by the inadequacy of funds for all relevant stakeholders in order to provide necessary infrastructure, manpower and specialised training to combat changing trends in the industry. The paper accordingly makes recommendations.
Keywords: Economic, Legal Perspective, Human Trafficking, Nigeria

This article essentially focuses on a critical exposition of feminist jurisprudence in the Nigerian context. The article is aimed at appraising feminist theories such as liberal feminism, radical feminism, postmodern feminism, and African feminism. The article utilised the qualitative research methodology for information. The article espoused the view that African feminist ideology is most suitable and bespoke in Nigeria. The article found that although there are several feminist movements in the country clamouring for the emancipation of the women folk, their ideologies and modus operandi are antipathetic towards men and often based on western notions of feminism which are, in practical terms, at variance or incompatible with the norms, values, realities and peculiarities of Nigerian women. Conversely, African feminism gives feminists the latitude to involve their male counterparts in the quest for the realization of the rights of women. This stand point is premised on the reality that men dominate the socioeconomic and political sectors of the Nigerian society. It is therefore contended that it is auspicious for women to collaborate with their male counterparts towards achieving the quintessential objective of equalization of opportunity and gender parity. The article concluded by recommending the adoption of African feminist jurisprudence and the exigency of implementing its ideological underpinnings and programmes so as to galvanise the realization of inclusiveness, equalization of opportunity and gender parity in the Nigerian context. 1. Introduction Feminism is essentially a political and socioeconomic movement aimed at achieving gender parity and equal rights for women. In retrospect, the evolution of feminism has been traced to 1942 when the media presented a film captioned along gendered lines. The film was entitled 'Woman of the Year.' 1 This was subsequently followed by a series of agitations and campaigns for the emancipation of the women folk. By and large, the historical development of feminist movement has been categorized into three main periods. The first occurred during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which involved a longstanding period of feminist activities focused on the promotion of contract and property rights of women and the agitations against chattel marriage-the ownership of women by their husbands and subsequently for political empowerment of women. The second period existed between the 1960s and the 1970s, it was basically a continuation of the first period with a focus on the political empowerment of women especially their right to vote and participate in the democratic process. The third period commenced from the 1990s to the present moment. The period is characterized by the quest for the mainstreaming of gender based issues and the promotion of the rights and socioeconomic wellbeing of women 2 including the formal development of gender studies and the law as well as feminist jurisprudence.

Several reports reveal escalating levels of violence against women in Nigeria and around the world. This paper thus investigated domestic violence in Nigeria from the perspective of economic costs and legal instruments enacted to control the menace. The result confirms that domestic violence has severe economic cost in Nigeria ranging from cost of justice, health care services, social services, education, business and employment cost, to household and personal cost running into billions of naira. Various international and local legal instruments applicable in Nigeria have also been examined. However, the numerous gaps, inconsistent provisions and poor implementation of laws have denied women in Nigeria the protection the law can guarantee. The paper thus recommends the harmonization of all legislation related to domestic violence. All legislation be also amended to bring them in line with the human rights and gender equality requirements. Finally, Religious and traditional institutions should be co-opted to sensitize the people within their domain on the ills of violence particularly of this genre.