NIGERIAN CRIMINAL LAW

The Nigerian prisons like the prisons in most developing counties are over flooded with inmates, a majority of whom are awaiting trial/conviction.  Many persons who may later be found innocent of the crime(s) alleged spend years in prison while awaiting the completion of their trial.  Much talk has been made of improving the criminal justice system and indeed steps have been taken to allow a speedy delivery of justice.  The recently enacted Administration of Criminal Justice Act  in Nigeria is one of such steps.  To many, the Act is a laudable one as it has created several measures to ensure a quicker delivery of justice in the Nigerian Criminal Justice System.

Despite the above, a lot still needs to be done.  The justice system a whole has seen a level of improvement in recent times due to recourse to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms among other things.  But very little ADR is applied in the Nigerian criminal justice system. This work is intended to explore the problems of the Nigerian Criminal Justice System, analyse the mechanisms set in place to solve such problems, suggest the various forms of ADR that can be applied and steps that should be taken to ensure the proper application of these ADR mechanisms.

Mediation, as a means of voluntary settlement of legal rights, has become a mainstay in many legal jurisdictions as an alternative in the resolution of disputes and the forgoing of any legal suits by claimants. Its use has also transcended into the sphere of criminal jurisdiction with its elements employed in healing the festering sores of crime - both physical and psychological - on victims and even in the sentencing of offenders, if any, in some jurisdictions. Its application in the Nigerian Judicature has however been marred by reticence due to reading of the offence of Compounding as a bar to settlement of criminal matters without prosecution of offenders. This paper analyses the offence of compounding with the view that it is not a bar, but a guide to be used in the mediation of crime with the aim to preserve society's need for general deterrence alongside an evolving positive legal phenomenon.

The article provides a panoramic view of the Nigerian law. It makes the understanding of the Nigerian law easy for everybody especially for non-lawyers. For non-Nigerian who desires to know the nature of the Nigerian law, the article is quite helpful and well-researched.

Mediation, as a means of voluntary settlement of legal rights, has become a mainstay in many legal jurisdictions as an alternative in the resolution of disputes and the forgoing of any legal suits by claimants. Its use has also transcended into the sphere of criminal jurisdiction with its elements employed in healing the festering sores of crime - both physical and psychological - on victims and even in the sentencing of offenders, if any, in some jurisdictions. Its application in the Nigerian Judicature has however been marred by reticence due to reading of the offence of Compounding as a bar to settlement of criminal matters without prosecution of offenders. This paper analyses the offence of compounding with the view that it is not a bar, but a guide to be used in the mediation of crime with the aim to preserve society's need for general deterrence alongside an evolving positive legal phenomenon.