Summary
-
In the Nigerian criminal justice sector, the author would argue that the confidence of the Nigerian public in the criminal justice system is too low (just like it was argued in relation to England and Wales in the Halliday Review, 2001). There is a feeling that the sentencing framework does not work as well as it should and that it pays insufficient weight to the needs of victims. Too many offenders are returning to court on too regular a basis, and too many Awaiting Trial Persons (ATPs) are being detained in the prison. There is insufficient consistency or progression in sentencing practice and sentencers receive insufficient information about whether their sentencing decisions have worked. The sentencing decision itself focuses too much on the offence and not sufficiently on offenders and their future behaviour, social harmony, healing of wounds caused by crime, and the needs of victims of crime. (excerpt)
7361
