Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System: An Attack on Our Future
I recently read about a preliminary inquiry conducted by Mr. Inibehe Effiong during his visit to a 17-year-old boy, who gained prominence for standing in front of the car of the Labour Party’s presidential flagbearer, Mr. Peter Obi, during the last election. This child has reportedly been detained at Kirikiri Maximum Security Custodial Centre since January.
While his name is in the public domain, I will not use it here, as the law mandates that the identity of children suspected to be in conflict with the law be protected. This aligns with both the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Nigeria is a signatory, and the Child’s Rights Act of 2003.
Reading this tragic account has made me reflect on Nigeria’s criminal justice system, a system recently critiqued by Dele Farotimi. Books may not suffice to capture the hypocrisy, manipulation, and corruption entrenched in the system. This story is yet another chapter and in alignment with the philosophy of the book, and the page we are reading now is that of the Nigerian child.
According to reports, this innocent child, believed to be around 17, was apprehended by local thugs and taken to the police station. Soon after, a charge was leveled against him.
If this boy is a suspect in conflict with the law, his case should be managed under the Child’s Rights Act of 2003, which mandates diversion, a process focused on restorative justice and rehabilitation rather than punishment. So why is this suspected child being detained with adults, violating the law’s provisions on diversion and separation from adult detainees?
Why is this child being arranged in a magistrate court alongside adults, when Family Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over matters involving children?
We are told the case is “awaiting the advice of the DPP.” If this advice is still pending, why has this boy, detained since January, not had his case resolved or been released on bail? The delay raises concerns about the efficiency of the judicial process. Even if the boy were an adult, the law presumes innocence until proven guilty. So why has he been detained for months without a clear resolution? Is this not a form of conviction before conviction?
These fundamental questions need answers. For now, I remain deeply troubled by the impunity that continues to stain Nigeria’s justice system and demand for the release of this precious innocent boy.
