There are very limited nigerian authorities on the applicability of plea bargain in nigeria even though the cases in which the concept has been explored continues to be on the rise. In nigeria, plea bargaining is usually employed in the trial of financial crime cases by making it part of the negotiation for the accused person to surrender some. It is understood to serve the interest of judicial economy, although it is often pursued to secure the cooperation of defendants. Pdf on feb 8, 2017, samuel idhiarhi and others published plea bargain and guidelines for plea bargaining find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
Comparative perspectives on plea bargaining in germany and the u. Many plea bargains are subject to the approval of the court, but some may not be e. Igbinedion supra, the court of appeal declined to hold that a plea bargaining arrangement made in 2008 barred the federal government from filing a similar charge against chief igbinedion, former governor of edo state, in future. Its applicability in nigeria will certainly have positive impacts amidst the criticisms. In this article, i will first discuss the concept of plea bargaining as it is understood under american and california jurisprudence. The current legal framework on plea bargain in nigeria by bisola. It gives a brief analysis of the position in other jurisdiction and particularly in the nigeria criminal justice system.
Plea bargaining at international tribunals and the concept of legal imperialism 208 5. A trial procedure that negates fundamental rights of the accused person3 argued that the process of plea bargaining violates the following rights guaranteed under the us constitution and the 1999 constitution of nigeria which are, the presumption of innocence. Plea bargaining and the administration of criminal justice in nigeria. A critical appraisal of the concept of plea bargaining in 31 issn 20536321print, issn 20536593online criminal justice delivery in nigeria ted. Supporters defend it on the grounds that it expedites cases, reduces processing costs, and helps authorities obtain cooperation from defendants. A preliminary study of how plea bargaining decisions by. Among the positive effects of this ruling is the declogging of court dockets and the cooperation of smalltime users or. Comparative perspectives on plea bargaining in germany and. The argument that extant statutes provide for plea bargaining. Judging by this standard, plea bargaining certainly worked, and quickly. The paper suggests that if nigeria desires to practise plea bargaining, she needs to enact into her. Issues and controversies surrounding the use of plea.
Asia law institute study examines plea bargaining in the chinese criminal justice system, and explores whether it conserves judicial resources at the expense of justice for defendants. The insurgence of plea bargaining in our criminal justice system will be considered and its effect on the anticorruption crusade. Plea bargain is a suitable model to the peculiar situation of nigeria. The impact of plea bargaining on the judicial process. Turner plea bargaining dominates the criminal process in the united states today, yet it remains highly controversial.
While plea bargain has been practised with ease in the united states, its applicability in nigeria cannot be hitch free. Those who are kicking against it claim that it is unknown to our legal system. Later, i will discuss how it crept into nigerian criminal jurisprudence and whether it should be allowed to continue. Presentation of the plea bargain manual lagos ags remarks. Thus, on the basis of a plea bargain, the prosecutor could decide to withhold. St untz, plea barg ain ing as contra ct, 101 y ale l. Mordi and others published the use of plea bargain in nigerian criminal law find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
Although plea bargain has become a global means of achieving results in prosecuting criminal offences, most countries including nigeria have refused to codify it or create a legal frame work for. In discussing the legality of plea bargain in the nigerian criminal justice system, it is important to examine the following lines of thought. Plea bargaining and the criminal justice system in nigeria2. A plea bargain allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow the accused to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge. Jun 23, 2011 the abuse of plea bargain in nigeria one of the most common and controversial recent practices in the criminal justice process is plea bargaining. Dec 05, 20 a former federal prosecutor in the southern district of new york told human rights watch that in plea bargaining they would threaten to stack 924c counts. Plea bargaining and the administration of criminal justice in. Plea bargaining and the criminal justice system in nigeria. Plea bargaining and the criminal justice system in nigeria on october 8, 2010, the former chief executive officer of oceanic bank international nigeria plc, mrs. Some may argue that a guilty plea and a guaranteed sentence is not the same as being found guilty and having an accurate sentence imposed. Should plea bargaining be abolished or encouraged in nigeria. The advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining may get criminals off the streets, but it could also put innocent people into prison.
Some comparative analysis is carried out in relation to the use of plea bargaining under the. Plea bargaining in montenegro and some comparative practices plea bargaining in montenegro legislation and practice 83 plea bargaining in serbia and croatia 94. Perhaps the greatest concern is that, at least as currently practiced in the united states, plea bargaining can be so coercive as to lead some innocent people to plead guilty. Some of the major drawbacks of the concept of plea bargaining as is recognized in india are as under. Also, research plea bargaining law, criminal procedure, and practice in countries that utilize plea bargaining more expansively, e. The emergence of plea bargaining in the nigeria legal system. Here are some additional advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining to take a look at today. Supreme court allows plea bargaining in drug cases. Monday, 9 feb 2009 it is no exaggeration that the subtle incursion of plea bargaining into nigerias criminal justice system during the trial of some influential personalities in the law courts, in recent times has. Lagos unveils plea, sentence bargaining manual the guardian. In the process, i will also discuss the merits and demerits of plea bargaining. From the above, the principles of plea bargain which is synonymous with that of mediation can be summarized as follows.
It is no exaggeration that the subtle incursion of plea bargaining into nigerias criminal justice system during the trial of some influential. The criminal justice system in nigeria commences with the commission of a crime and continues with subsequent interventions by the law enforcement agencies of the system that has the power to arrest, arraignment, trial, sentencing and punishment of the offender. Plea bargaining is a defining, if not the defining, feature of the federal criminal justice system brown and bunnell, 2006. The abuse of plea bargain in nigeria sahara reporters. In plea bargaining, a defendant is faced with a charge at arraignment. For some plea bargaining is an important and useful tool used to keep the wheels of justice moving in a timely fashion, but to others it is a slap on the wrist to offenders and a further.
Oct 11, 2010 plea bargaining and the criminal justice system in nigeria on october 8, 2010, the former chief executive officer of oceanic bank international nigeria plc, mrs. Abstract this paper explores the importance of the concept of plea bargaining to the criminal justice system. Practice and procedure of plea bargain under acj act. He argued that in nigeria, the use of plea bargaining was being bastardised because most of the suspects allowed to make the pleas were paying back a fraction of the money they had stolen. The nigerian criminal justice system recently enshrined the use of the plea bargain as a tool to ensure an efficient and swift justice delivery in. The paper extrays the question as to whether the concept of plea bargaining in the united states is an appropriate model for nigeria and notes that owing to the. Oct 06, 2008 this work will analyze the incidence the incidence of corruption in nigeria, the havoc it has caused on the society and the attempts made by government at curbing it. Pdf the use of plea bargain in nigerian criminal law. Easterbrook, plea bargaining as compromise, 101 yale l.
In addition to highlighting the jurisprudential basis for use of the new measures in criminal justice, we shall also highlight and consider suitable approaches for unlocking the potential of these concepts and practices in. The concept of plea bargaining in nigeria criminal law. Under many victim rights statutes, victims have the right to have input into the plea bargaining process. Ebscohost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays, articles and other content including the impact of plea bargaining on the judicial process. The study precisely advocated for outright dropping of the plea bargain in corruption prosecution in nigeria because of its tendency to deepen and extenuate. A moral critique sule peter echewija department of philosophy, federal university lafia, nigeria abstract the idea of justice normatively reflects justitia in the roman worldview. The legality of the use of plea bargain in the nigerian. Plea bargains are subject to the approval of the court, and different states and jurisdictions have different rules. Restorative justice has been introduced into the nigerian criminal justice system by the enactment of the administration of criminal justice act, 2015.
Plea and charge bargaining office of justice programs. Plea bargaining is a procedure within a criminal justice system whereby prosecutors and defendants negotiate a plea and dispose of a case before trial. In writing the article secondary data drawn from books, case laws, statutes, unpublished material s and the internet were relied upon. He emphasized that infact, government being the major employer of organized labour has impacted negatively on the practice of collective bargaining in the private sector through its employment practices and actions. Defendants who take a plea bargain eliminate the uncertainty that a trial may bring. Plea bargaining outside the shadow of trial pdf the thesis of this article by stephanos bibas is that scholars are wrong in viewing the shadow of trial as the overwhelming determinant of plea. The controversy trailing the concept of plea bargain in the nations criminal justice system is not likely to end soon. The application of plea bargaining and restorative justice. The defence is limited to the testimony of their client, any witnesses that may support their case and the disclosure of documents by the defendant. A blessing or curse to nigerias criminal justice system by francis famoroti published.
This document is a research report submitted to the u. However, in nigeria, the obverse is the case as collective bargaining gained its root in the public sector owing to the near absence of private sector at the turn of the century. It sought to revisit case laws and statutes on the various commercial tr ansactions in nigeria. Usually the details of a plea bargain arent known publicly until announced in court. Writing in frye, the court acknowledged the central role of plea agreements in the criminal justice system, stating that plea bargaining. The ag has power to accept and consider plea bargain in the interest of justice. A plea bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor, in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest nolo contendere in exchange for an agreement by the prosecutor to drop one or more charges, reduce a charge to a less serious offense, or recommend to the judge a specific sentence acceptable to the defense as criminal courts become ever. Feb 06, 20 the term plea bargain has become one of the most popular in nigerias legal circles in recent times, thanks to the increase in the rate of corruptionbased offences. Plea bargaining is essentially a private process, but this is changing now that victims rights groups are becoming recognized. Nigeria in nigeria, plea bargaining has been employed in a. Apr 01, 2009 an initial study of the use of simplified procedure in china elizabeth m. It can be treated as an escape route for a prosecutor. D lecturer faculty of law, anambra state university igbariam.
The first months following the passing of the original amendment introducing plea bargaining in february 2004 were marked by a series of high profile plea bargains with former government officials and other influential figures accused of corruption. The plea bargain principle no doubt is becoming one of the most useful means of quick disposal of criminal trials the world over. The essential conception and the imperative of the discharge of the burden of proof. Defence lawyers have limited resources which normally results in any plea bargain being, rubber stamped or rejected. The history of the application of plea bargaining in nigeria started with the. The plea bargain practise in nigeria to be or not to be. Nigeria s protracted sojourn under military dictatorship has no doubt done its bit to lessen the esteem, with which the dignity of the person and his property are held by law enforcement agencies generally. Sep 26, 2017 as part of its efforts to fasten criminal justice administration and decongest prisons in the state, lagos state government has unveiled manual for plea and sentence bargaining. B by involving the court in plea bargaining process, the courts impartiality is impugned. A trial procedure that negates fundamental rights of the accused person 3 argued that the process of plea bargaining violates the following rights guaranteed under the us constitution and the 1999 constitution of nigeria which are, the presumption of innocence of the accused person until proven. Such sentiments were contained in the 1993 royal report and the justice for all white paper, published in 2002 allafrica 2015. Jan 26, 2017 how then has it come to be, that the apparel of law enforcement in nigeria is all but synonymous with jungle justice. Plea bargaining in india the doctrine of nolo contendere or plea bargaining has been introduced by criminal law amendment act, 2005.
The practice of plea bargaining and its effect on the anti. Plea bargaining and the administration of criminal justice. What is collective bargaining joshoyin 2007 define collective bargaining as a machinery for discussion and negotiation whether formal or informal, between employers and workers, representatives, aimed at reaching mutual agreement or understanding on the employers and the worker, according to glueck 1982 collective. In addition to highlighting the jurisprudential basis for use of the new measures in criminal justice, we shall also highlight and consider suitable approaches for unlocking the potential of these concepts and practices in the criminal justice system. The central focus here is a critique of corruption prosecution through plea bargain based on moral and utilitist principles. A preliminary study of how plea bargaining decisions by prosecution and defense attorneys are affected by eyewitness factors march 5, 2012. The articles examines the legality of the concept of plea bargaining in nigeria in the light of its application to some high profile cases in recent times. Part four discusses the implications of the application of plea bargain on nigeria s anti corruption campaign while part five concludes the paper by way of recommendations on how to address the flaws. Plea bargaining is a system of resolving criminal cases through the achievement of an agreement between the prosecutor and defence regarding the guilty plea to some charges in exchange for the dropping of the other charges or a lower penalty depending upon the legal jurisdiction.
A new chapter xxi a on plea bargaining was introduced in the criminal procedure code, 1973. However the application is growing in practice since it has been empoloyed by the efcc in corruption cases s. The use of plea bargain in nigerian criminal law chinwe a. Mordi nigerian law school, augustine nnamani campus, enugu, nigeria abstract while previously unknown in the nigerian criminal system, plea bargain has come to stay with the establishment of the economic and financial crimes. A involving the police in plea bargaining process would invite coercion. At the same event, uwais, former cjn argued that the practice of plea bargain is not new in nigeria. Plea bargaining dominates the criminal process in the united states today, yet it remains highly controversial. This development creates a shift from the aim of criminal law being punishment in economic and. D senior lecturer, faculty of law, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. This theory is a metaphor for the empirical connection between legal laxity and promotion of corruption, which plea bargain signifies in nigeria. Cap f12, federal high court act, laws of federation of nigeria, 2004. The article credited with first presenting this theory of civil settlement is robert h. Adeniji kazeems remarks at the presentation of the plea bargain manual held on thursday, 21st of september, 2017 at the conference room, ministry of justice, alausaikeja.
Issues and controversies surrounding the use of plea bargaining in international criminal tribunals by. Muhonge godfrey v the independent electoral commission election petition no. Mar 27, 2012 in discussing the legality of plea bargain in the nigerian criminal justice system, it is important to examine the following lines of thought. Collective bargaining and conflict resolution in nigerias.