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

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

Public relations perspectives on electoral reforms as a panacea for consolidating Nigeria’s democracy

Abstract. Electoral reforms have been considered as sustainable means of improving on the quality of elections in Nigeria, this is especially as it avails the country, tremendous opportunities in admitting new policies such as new techniques, technologies and improved systems of protecting the welfare of electorates. It is evident from the literature that, public relations overtime has been a unifying factor in accelerating Nigeria’s democracy and sustaining its need for periodic elections and encouraging the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).  Based on the level of malpractices and issues associated with the conduct of elections in Nigeria, it was concluded in this paper that, there are several benefits attached to the process of electoral reforms in Nigeria, hence, it gives government the opportunity to revamp its electoral policies through campaigns, introduction of new technologies, voting and more importantly, the nature of conducting elections bearing in mind that, poorly adopted electoral policies normally lead to the outbreak of crisis from aggrieved parties.  It is recommended amongst others that, government at all levels should consider periodic electoral reforms as a strategy for development and as such; they should ensure that only people with credibility are charged with the mandate of presiding over electoral reform committees (ERC).Keywords. Electoral reforms, Public relations, Democracy and elections.JEL. D72, D73, D78

The Impact Of Environmental Degradation On Human Health And Its Relevance To The Right To Health Under International Law

When natural habitats are destroyed or natural resources are depleted the environment is degraded. Environmental degradation results from factors such as urbanisation, population growth, intensification of agriculture, rising energy use and transportation, climate change, pollutions arising from many sources such as technological activities. It is explored that as a result of the dynamic interplay of socio-economic factors and technological activities amongst many other factors, these have devastating consequences on human health. Thus environmental degradation consequences affect the health and the right to health of the people. Using the doctrinal method of research, we examine the confluence of environmental degradation and health from a rights perspective. An unhealthy environment possess health hazards consequently a violation of the right to health. The article recommends that states’ obligation under international law to protect the right to health should be enforceable. Human beings are entitled to right to health even as the environment needs to be protected from activities which cause environmental degradation

The Rights of Prisoners in Nigeria and the Role of Prisons and Modern Penology

Prison system in Nigeria and elsewhere not only disables its inmates from their criminal pursuit but equally serves as an institution for their reform and rehabilitation into the society after their release. The system of imprisonment represents a curious combination of different objectives of punishment. The attitude of society towards prisoners may vary according to the objects of imprisonment and social reaction to the crime. Whereas rigorous imprisonment and imposition of severe restriction on the prisoner signifies retribution or deterrence, a lesser restriction and control over him in the form of simple imprisonment means that he is considered to be only a deviant. The modern progressive view, however regards crime as a social disease and favours treatment of offenders through non-penal methods such as probation, parole, open jail etc. Whatever be the reaction of society to the crime, the lodging of criminals in prisons gives rise to several problems of correction, rehabilitation and reformation. It may equally constitute serious violation of prisoners’ rights as they are also human-not devoid of their rights

Chemical Compositions, FTIR and Larvicidal Activity of Essential Oils Extracted from Aromatic Plants

Essential oils are substances obtained from plant materials and are complex mixtures whose composition varies. In this study, the chemical composition, and larvicidal activity of extracted essential oils from some aromatic plants were evaluated. Modified steam distillation apparatus was used to extract essential oils from the Citrus limon linn leaf, Vitex trifolia seed and Cananga odorata. Furthermore, the plant materials were tested using FTIR, GC-MS, and larvicidal activity test. Citrus limon linn produced more amount of essential oil (1.4ml), Vitex trifola (0.7ml) and Cananga odorata (0.5ml) after 3hours ofsteam distillation. The result obtained from the infrared spectra indicates the functional groups of the compounds present in Citrus limon linn, Vitex trifolia and Cananga odorata. GC-MS analysis identified, 13, 12 and 24 chemical constituents present in Citrus limon linn , Vitex trifolia and Cananga odorata essential oil respectively. The three main essential oil and their percentage compositions are D-Limonene (22.82%), Citral (25.20 %), and Cis-Verbenol (20.43%) for Citrus limon linn. Leaf essential oil, Sabinene (39.14%), Caryophyllene (26.45%) and 1 R- α Pinene (15.20%) for Vitex trifolia seed essential oil, and Linalool (35.30%), Ascabiol (23.54%), Caryophyllene (20.30%), Copaene (12.76%) and Germacrene D (11.32%). However, the results from the larvicidal activity reveals that essential oil extracted from Citrus limon linn, Vitex trifolia and Cananaga odorata may serve as insecticide and can be used as potent insecticide for the control of mosquitoes