The Future of the Defence of Provocation in Nigerian Criminal Law

Provocation as a defence is subjected to a considerable degree of criticism especially in the countries where the abolition of capital punishment has taken place and in those of common Law jurisdiction. In these countries there has been an argument on the future of provocation as a line of a partial defence. This is because there are some problems associated with the reasonable relation rule and the question of objectivity in the defence of provocation. In Nigeria, the defence of provocation is a partial defence and the law on provocation needs urgent attention. The doctrine of provocation, however, raises a number of problems for the law students, judges and the practicing lawyers. In the first place, there is the important question as to whether the provocation, in its application to homicide, is defined by the codes themselves or by reference to common law, however, the common law has continued to be a guide in the interpretation of the codes’ provisions. To this extent the law of provocation in Nigeria is supplemented by common law principles. For example, the proportionality rule, though not found in Nigerian codes, is frequently incorporated by the courts in their decisions. Provocation is, therefore, only a mitigating factor so that men will exercise some rational judgment in dealing with each other. The plea of provocation is founded on loss of self-control both actual and reasonable. There is a combination of subjective and objective elements in the plea. Apart from the fact that the accused has received grave and sudden provocation, he must also have been provoked. The objective element in provocation emanates from the reasonable man test and includes the proportionality rule. The second problem in the plea of provocation is the applicability of the objective test in Nigeria and elsewhere. Since the Nigerian legal system is influenced by the Islamic law, reference also will be made to the Maliki School of jurisprudence in the non-recognition of the plea of provocation by its doctrines. Provocation as a defence has given rise to many conceptual difficulties and no easy solution presents itself. It is therefore aimed that this article will examine some aspects of the plea of provocation in an attempt to put it in more rational basis reflecting the basic realities in the Nigerian society of today

The Statutory Role of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission in the Administration of Justice in Nigeria

Law reforms within the legal system or in the administration of justice system is to improve the laws by making changes or corrections so that the laws will be in harmony with the constant demands of the time being and desired democratic norms. These goals can always be achieved by the way of systematic law reforms based on informed political, economic and social needs which reflects the moral values and aspirations of the people living in a global village. When the old law is reformed and then enacted into new one, it has become a social reality. This new law can be said to emanate from the people. Some said that new law reflects the spirit of the people (i.e. volkgeist). For smooth delivery of justice in the administration of justice system in Nigeria, the Nigerian Law Reform Commission has a great role to play and undertake the progressive development and reform of substantive and procedural law applicable in Nigeria by way of codification, elimination of anomalous or obsolete laws and general simplification of the law in accordance with general directions issued to it by the government from time to time or on its own initiatives to submit proposals for law reforms to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for the onward submission to the National Assembly (i.e. Parliament) as executive bills for legislation. The Nigerian Law Reform Commission is poorly funded and under utilized to give its professional input in bills making by the Local Government Councils, state houses of Assembly and the National Assembly (i.e. Parliament).The number of the serving commissioners in the Nigerian Law Reform Commission is limited to four. As a commission of jurists this number should be increased by reforming the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act 1979 to reflect a reasonable number of jurists to cover different branches of law, Sharia and other social sciences

Enhancing the Role of Civil Society Organizations in the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria

Abstract: To ensure the attainment of good governance and sustainable development, corruption and its scourge must be combated. In Nigeria, the state has had series of anti-corruption measures by successive administrations in its 55 years of existence as an independent entity. While such measures appeared to have been well packaged, however, absence of political will and inability of the state to regard civil society organizations as important partner in the anti corruption has retarded the country’s ability to get rid of the menace of corruption, hence the inability of Nigerian state to provide effective and efficient services to its teeming populace. Being a partner in the development process of modern state, and in order to effectively enhance their roles in the fight against corruption, the paper proper ways upon which civil society groups can organize themselves and work with the state to get rid of corruption in the country.Keywords: Civil Society, Corruption, Democracy, Democratization, Stat

Reflections on the Introduction of Plea-Bargain and Community Service by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2007 in Lagos State and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 in Nigeria

Nigeria is part of the global village and has to reform its criminal justice system to cope with the demands of democratic society nationally and internationally. New strategies must be developed to make our criminal justice system human rights friendly and more effective for crime control and easy dispensation of cases without delay. Nigeria needs a justice system that works in the interest of justice. It should have Criminal Justice System that gives the accused, the victim of crime and witnesses equal treatment and protection. The concept of plea-bargain is internationally used to assist in saving time and energy of the agencies of the criminal justice system. New methods of disposal like compensation to the victim of crime and compulsory community service for the offenders are introduced to replace old methods and reduce the over use of imprisonment by our courts. The Nigeria administration of justice system inherited from decades of military rule poses serious challenges for the democratic governance of Nigeria. The transformations of the Laws become necessary to reflect the new constitution and the demands of a democratic society. In this article we will examine and reflect on the plea-bargain and community service introduced for the first time in Nigeria by the Administration of Justice Law 2007 in Lagos State and in Nigeria by the coming in effect of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. This article aims at enlightening lawyers and members of the public of the benefits of the introduction of plea-bargain and community service in the Nigerian Criminal Justice System

Mapping and Monitoring Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) Drainage system using Geographic Information System (GIS)

This project is about mapping and monitoring Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) Drainage system using Geographic Information System (GIS). The purposes of this project are to develop appropriate database of spatial and attribute data that contribute to drainage system in UTP and also to perform spatial analysis in order to establish monitoring system to drainage system in UTP. The report includes the theory, software and hardware used in order to execute the project. This project use GIS software which is Maplnfo Professional 7.0. Basic of Maplnfo software is consist of three components; mapping, creation of database and analysis. For the drainage system database, it will display information of spatial and attribute data such as names, types, dimension and pictures. The analysis section consists of drainage flood analysis that shows the affected area cause by overflow of water during precipitation

Microstructure and Hardness Investigation of Different Welding Passes in Weld Zones

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state process for joining aluminium and other metallic alloys where the metal is not melted during the welding process. It was invented to substitute conventional welding of aluminium alloy. This report will covers the theoretical background of friction stir welding, literature reviews on related research works, implemented methodology, results and discussions and lastly conclusion. The objective of this study is to analyze the microstructure of different welding passes in weld zones as well as the hardness of the weld zones

Internal migration in Northern Ghana: understanding the integrative challenges of migrants in Tamale Metropolis

Purpose: Successful integration of migrants in any society has a very vital impact on the wellbeing of migrants. The study therefore uses descriptive statistics to analyse the integrative challenges of internal migrants in the Tamale metropolis of Northern Ghana. Research methodology: The study adopted the mixed-method approach and non-probability sampling techniques to select 120 internal migrants for the study. Results: The results revealed that economic factors (46.7%) accounted for most reasons cited for migrating. Language barriers (24.2%) and higher cost of living (19.2%) were the most encountered challenges and a proportion of 10.8 per cent reported not having encountered any difficulty. Limitations: The study explored all forms of internal migration in the Metropolis. However, it failed to explore the occurrence of international migration given the growing influx of international migrants in the study area. Contribution: The outcome of the study will advance knowledge on the challenges faced by migrants within the Metropolis and measures could be taken to resolve some undesired experiences. Additionally, the study will make a valuable contribution to the limited migration literature in the North

Sorcery and its Menace Among Muslims, Islamic Da'wah in Perspective

This paper is a contribution and a piece of Da'wah towards enlightening Muslims on the menace of sorcery and sorcerers. The work has highlighted some of the major reasons why some Muslims with weak Iman seek the help of sorcerers for worldly things thereby harming their fellow being. It is therefore, the application of Islamic Da’wah that would assist in reminding Muslims in avoiding the menace of sorcery. It has been discovered from the interview that sorcerers have destroyed many family relationships and created damage to some marriages, also economic backward to sorcery goers. The paper also found out that some sorcery goers do regret their actions after coming in contact with the truth. This study was conducted using a survey method, and data were collected through in-depth interviews. The results of this study showed the need for a sustainable Da'wah to combat the issue of sorcery and sorcerers that have become a menace among Muslims which have affected their Iman. The study recommended that there was an urgent need for engagement of various stakeholders in Nigeria and beyond, to checkmate the issue of sorcerers and their activities in the society. &nbsp

Effects Of Seasonal Climate Variations On Hybrid Power System Using Power Pinch Analysis

The global warming nowadays is one of the result from burning of fossil fuels for electricity power generation. Due to this world problem, the world shift on to the more environmental power generation which is by applying Hybrid Power System (HPS) which use renewable energies as the power source. The challenge of using Renewable Energy (RE) is the climate variation which need to be considered in the HPS design. In this project, the performance of HPS during summer and winter for a site located in Toronto, Canada with population around 30,000 has been studied. The factors been looking forward in design the HPS are the Minimum Outsource Electric Source (MOES) and the Available Excess Electricity for the Next Day (AEEND) at the end of the day for both season by using the new approach of analysis which is Power Pinch Analysis. As a result, the demand situation are taken based on summer as the demand are higher than winter season while the power generation taken based on winter season