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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2025
The administration of criminal justice in Nigeria is governed by the Criminal Code of Nigeria and those of the former constituent Regions except the former Northern Region which had a Penal Code Law of its own (1); the Criminal Codes, while the Penal Procedure Code Law does the same to its substantive counterpart. The main difference between the Criminal Codes and the Criminal Procedures on the one hand, and the Penal Code Law and the Penal Procedure Code Law on the other, is that the former is more closely based upon English Law than the latter which came into force only since 1959 and which derives from the Sudanese penal legislation on the subject (2). Even the Northern Nigeria Penal Code Law and its supplementary Penal Procedure Code Law may be said to derive ultimately from English Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure through the Indian Penal Code and, later, the Pakistan Penal Code before its receiption and modification in the former Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. It is, however, true that both the Indian and the Sudanese codes are simplified versions of the English criminal law, and that it is the Nigerian Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure, which all the former constituent Regions of the Federation have retained almost in their entirely as their own criminal and penal legislation.
(1) The newly created six States have retained the existing criminal law and procedure, at least for the time being.
(2) Between 1916 and 1959, there was only one Criminal Law throughout Nigeria, and that was the Nigerian Criminal Code Act. Regionalisation in 1947 of the former unitary system of government did not affect the uniform character of this legislation until 1959, although under the newly introduced federal system in 1954, it was clear that Criminal Law would be regionalised because it was a residual subject under the Constitution of 1954.
(3) See my Nigeria : Development of Its Laws and Constitution (1967), p. 353-387. Stevens and Sons Ltd., London.
(4) All the foregoing provisions are to be found in section 22 of the Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria 1963, which guarantees the individual's right to a fair hearing throughout the Republic. Almost all the provisions stated in the text in this connection have been part and parcel of the Criminal Law and Procedure of Nigeria for more than the preceding 50 years.
(5) The reason is that the sociological and economic difficulties militating against the extensive use of Jury Trial are common to a number of other development countries. See, e.g., my Bristish Colonial Law : A Comparative Study (1962), p. 259-266.
(6) For a fuller consideration of this matter, see my «Some Considerations on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria» in The International Review of Criminal Policy, No, 20, p. 3-10, Geneva.
(7) The Report of the Working Party on Police and Prison Services in Nigeria (1967), at p. 52. Federal Ministry of Information, Printing Division, Lagos.
(8) In order to insulate the police force as much as possible from political influence, the Nigerian Police Force is subject to the control of the Police Service Commission consisting of the Chairman of the Public Service Commission as its chairman, a Judge of the High Court of Lagos and two other independent persons. It deals with appointments, promotion, discipline or dismissal of members of the Force. There is also a Nigerian Police Council which has supervisory control over organisation and administration of the Force and other matters relating thereto. (See ss. 106-110 of the Constitution.)
(9) A programme for the integration of the various Local Authority police forces with the Nigerian Police Force has now reached an advanced stage.
(10) All the basic training of new recruits to the Force is done locally at Police Colleges established over fifty years in some cases. For highly specialized training, scores of experienced officers have, over a long period, been sent to the United Kingdom from time to time.