The Right of an Accused Person Under the Nigerian Legal System
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
- To study the relevance of the rule of law as a vital instrument for the protection and enjoyment of Fundamental Human Right by the people most especially an accused person, who is the main centre of this work.
- To know the principle of the rule of law, through which the rights of theaccused can be respected and recognized by everyone.
- To enable the people know the best way to seek redress in the court of law whenever their rights are being infringed upon.
CHAPTER TWO
THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHT
INTRODUCTION
The issue of human right is the most widely debated issue in the world today and which cannot be meddle with. The phrase ‘Human rights’ are qualified as civil or legal, absolute or inalienable and fundamental or universal right.
When we talks of inalienable right, it means a right which is an integral part of an individual [dignity of human] which cannot be taken away stricto- Sensu because the taking away of such rights would be tantamount to inhuman treatment6, this was held in Thomas & Four Ors v Timothy Olufosoye7
In common parlance “right” means an action or conduct which is morallygood in the eyes of the law. Thus, whoever keeps the law does right and
whoever violates it does wrong. Also, human right is based on the assumption of a natural law that posits that there are certain immutable rights that belong to man everywhere and which in virtue of man’s security should be secured and guaranteed to everyone. Such rights are not right 6 Bashir Y. I. Human Right in Nigeria (PHD requirement ABU Zaria 1999) p.17 (1966)1 ALL NLR 178 which derived from a particular station they are rights which belong to man simply because he is a man8.
In Dominic Peter Ekanem V Assistant Inspector General of Police9 the Supreme Court says that,
Every human being is entitled to fundamental right only when he is not subject to any constitutional disability….Human rights are universal- they belong to all in every human society. As Louis Henkin said ‘To call these rights ‘human’ implies that all human beings have them equally and in equal measure by virtue of their humanity regardless of sex, race, age and regardless of social class, national origin, ethnic or tribal affiliation; regardless of wealth or poverty, occupation, talent, merit, religion, ideology location or other commitment.
These rights are entrenched in chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and they include right to life, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, right to private and family life, right to freedom of expression and the press, right to freedom from discrimination among others.
There are other international instruments on human right which are: Magna-Carta; Petition of Right1628; Bill of Rights 1689; Virginia Declaration of Rights 1776; American Declaration of Independence 1776; French Declarations of Rights of Man and of the Citizen 1789; 10 Universal Declarations of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 1789; Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; European Convention for the Protection of Human Right and Freedoms 1950; American Convention for the Protection of Human Right and Freedom 1959; Written Constitution of several independent modern states and states liberated from colonialism; African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 198110.
CHAPTER THREE
THE CONCEPT OF RIGHTS OF AN ACCUSED PERSON
INTRODUCTION
Under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the rights of an accused person standing trial for a criminal offence are fully guaranteed. The relevant sections are sections 35 and 36. Such right includes, the right to be informed promptly in the language that he understands and in detail the nature of the offence; right to be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence; to defend himself in person or by legal practitioner of his own choice, to be presumed innocent until he is proved guilty, the right to remain silent, have without payment the assistance of an interpreter among others.87
All these rights are designed to adequately protect the accused person alleged to have committed any criminal offence in the Administration of Criminal Justice, so that justice is not only done but seen to have been done and actually done.
THE RIGHT OF AN ACCUSED UNDER
THE CONSTITUTION
The requirement or condition of the Constitutional rights of an accused person are not limited to the following but includes:-
RIGHT TO FAIR HEARING: – Fair hearing is equivalent to a fair trial. The right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time is the fundamental right of an accused person guaranteed in the constitution. This section88 contains two distinct rights for every accused person. First, there must be a fair hearing; second, the trial must be conducted within a reasonable time. The trial judge must also ensure compliance with the fundamental rights of the accused in Section 36 (6) of the constitution and there cannot be a fair trial, when any of the constitutional rights of the accused are violated. 89In Torri v. National Park Service of Nigeria90 ‘The right to fair hearing is described as an extreme fundamental right in the constitution and the breach thereof has its implication on the proceedings. Every person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to be heard. This right is inalienable and an indispensable requirement of any judicial decision. However, fair hearing is not some kind of abstract principle.
CHAPTER FOUR
SAFEGUARD FOR THE RIGHT OF AN ACCUSED PERSON
INTRODUCTION
The constitutional safeguard for the right of an accused person under the Nigerian
Criminal Justice System has its foundation on the principles of fair trial and fair hearing. The constitutional safeguards to ensure a fair trial for the accused includes:
Right to counsel, information of crime committed, provision of interpreter, time to prepare for trial, examination of prosecution witnesses, right to fair hearing, presumption of innocence, offence must be known to law, right to silence, one trial only for an offence and publicity of trial with the role of the Legal Aid Council and Nigeria Bar Association shall be discussed.
THE AWAITING TRIAL OF AN INMATE AS AN ACCUSED PERSON
An inmate awaiting trial under the Nigeria criminal justice system enjoys some rights guaranteed under the constitution. An inmate is a person confined in a prison, hospital or other institutions. In the preview of this project, we are referring to an accused person awaiting trial in prison custody. The rights enjoys by the accused includes the following:-
(1) Right to Counsel: Right of the accused person to defend himself in person or by a legal practitioner of his choice.160160 The Nigeria Law School Handbook on criminal procedure 2001/2002 Session Section 36(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution p.6
(2) Information of Crime Committed: Right to be informed promptly in the language he understands in detail, of the nature of the offence. The information must be given to the accused prior to the trial, at the time of arrest or at the beginning of the trial when he is arraigned.161
CHAPTER FIVE
GENERAL CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
It has been established that the constitution guarantees an accused persons right to fair hearing which is the pillar that other rights rest on. The attitudes of courts to the accused person’s right to fair hearing is generally founded upon the provision of Sections 35 and 36 of the Nigerian constitution 1999 as applied to every person charged with criminal offence.
We have been able to identify that the law seeks after the highest possible idea of justice and fairness and that has been the judicial attitude in criminal cases. Thus, the court is duty bound to uphold, enforce and enjoy the observance of this fundamental right as enshrined in the law.
The Legal Aid Council and the Nigeria Bar Association must work hand in hand with great passion for humanity to ensure that the right of an accused is being safeguarded to the fullest by seeing to it that fair hearing and fair trial is been given to the accused, so as to have a vibrant and effective criminal justice system.
Any civilized society must uphold the tenets of fair hearing and recognize that justice is indeed meant to be a three way traffic specifically justice to the victim, justice to the state and justice to the accused person, because all the full weight of the laws fall on the side of an accused person.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is a known fact that the practicality of this discourse is a problem, so in view of this, the Federal Government, Judiciary, Law Enforcement Agents and equally the citizens of Nigeria should work together toward the practicality of these rights. There should also be material conditions of fundamental liberties for all. The citizens of Nigeria must endeavor to do a critical and proper study of what their right is, so that they could seek redress when those rights are breached.
The Federal Government must be made to observe the rule of law and not to violate the human rights of the citizen, in this regard the Nigeria government is call upon to ratify the convention against torture and cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and should ensure that the awareness is created on the rights of its citizens and should encourage the law enforcement agents to uphold the constitution of the country.
The judiciary whose independence is a condition sine qua non for good functioning must be made to have direct access to its funds in terms of adequate salaries and improvement of laws courts system so that the rights will be implemented effectively. Judges should ensure liberal and effective enforcement of Fundamental
Human Right and equally liberalize bail conditions. They should also assist citizens whose rights have been violated but do not have or cannot afford legal representation by referring them to the relevant NGOs, NBA, Office of Public Defenders, National Human Rights Commission and Legal Aid Council. The Legal Aid scheme must be made to have more coverage for all indigents and adequate funds and personal calibre to man its affair.
Our courts should be increased in many folds and seriously updated to encourage trial and disposition of criminal matter cheaper and technicalities free, this will lead to an increase legal awareness. Access to court must be make easier and equally encourage citing of more court rooms near the prisons and police stations so that when any suspect feels that his rights have been breached they could easily go to court.
It would equally be a welcomed idea if the human rights activists could engage in mass education, awareness, campaigns and sensitization of citizens on human right issues to make every citizens of Nigeria most especially the suspect to know that they have a right under the law.
All Nigerians should work together towards attaining the international standard of the Practicality of the right of an accused because this is what is obtained in the developed countries of the world and Nigeria as a leading African nation should not be left out.
REFERENCES
- Adesiyan D.O, An Accused person’s Rights in Nigeria Criminal Law (Heinmann Educational Books (Nigeria) Plc pub. 1996)
- Ajomo M.A, Individual Rights under the 1989 Constitution (Nigeria institute of Advanced Legal Studies 1993).
- Bodede J, Criminal Evidence in Nigeria (Revised Edition, Florence and Lambard (Nig) Ltd., 2008).
- Ibrahim I, A Highlight on the Constitutional Safeguard for an Accused person’s Rights to Fair Trial in the Nigeria Criminal Justice (The Legal issues in honour of Justice Belgore S.M.A, 2008).