Nigeria
Nigeria is country located in West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea between Benin and Cameroon. It covers an area of 923,768 square kilometers with geographical coordinates at 10 00 N, 8 00E. (CIA, 2016). Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with a population of 181,562,056 people and the eighth most populous the world over with only 25% of this population living in the urban cities. Nigeria has very many diverse ethnic groups, over 300 of them with the most dominant being the Hausa-Fulani making up 29% of the total population. They mostly occupy the northern region of the country. Other large ethnic groups include the Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5% and Tiv 2.5%. (CIA, 2016). 50% of the country’s population is Islam while 40% are Christians mainly in the south region, 10% subscribe to traditional religious beliefs. The country’s official language is English and the population also speaks their indigenous languages that total to over 500 languages spoken in the country. (CIA, 2016).
Nigeria's largest population of people consists of children aged 0-14 years who make up 43.01% as of 2015. It puts the country on a high dependency rate with 88 dependents per 100 workers, 19-24-year-old make up 19.38% of the population comprising the young working population. 30.56% of the population consists of 25-54-year-olds while 55-64 years make up only 3.94% and finally at 3.11% are the 65 and over people. It has a life expectancy of 53.02 years with females showing a higher expectancy at 54.1 years for males' 52 years.
Nigeria was colonized by the British having gained full control of the country by 1906. It gained independence in October 1960 as a confederation of three districts, Northern, Western and Eastern under the British constitution. Independence came as a result of several rebellions against an oppressive British rule where educated leaders fought to protect the rights of as well as the emancipation of Africans. In October 1963, Nigeria drafted a new constitution and severed ties with the United Kingdom and formed a federal government as opposed to the centralized form of governance the British had established. (SAHO, 2012). It thus became a sovereign state with self-rule.
Economic Structure
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with an estimated GDP of US$1.1 trillion and oil is the dominant form of income. (CIA, 2016). Nigeria exhibits a mixed economy system where the government regulates the businesses by subsidizing the prices of commodities while buyers and sellers are given freedom to decide on pricing. (Owojori, 2011). The government of Obasanjo made an effort to privatize the industry with the goal to transform the country into capitalism to grow the economy rapidly. While not entirely unsuccessful, the country has a capitalist economy as well as a socialist one and all activities are under centralized control by the federal government. Today, Nigeria still has one of the largest public enterprise sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Government Structure
Nigeria has a federal republic system of governance with a president as the head of the country. The country is divided into Federal Capital Territory of Abuja and 36 other states that each has three states senators in the capital while Abuja has an extra senator. The country has three branches of government namely: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. It has a strong executive appointed by the president and comprises the cabinet referred to as the Federal Executive Council. It is made up of representatives from all the states while the legislature is bicameral and elected by the citizens of the country and comprises of 109 members of the Senate and a 360-member House that both make up the National Assembly. (The Embassy of Nigeria, 2016). Finally, the Judiciary is free from state interference as dictated by the Constitution.
The fourth constitution only grants the rightfully elected president a maximum of two four-year terms which was passed in 1999 after 15 years of military rule. Nigeria is thus primarily a secular democratic state that also allows the operation of the Shari’ah laws (Islamic) under it.
The country’s judicial and legal systems are built on a combination of various statutory/legislative laws, English common law tracing back to colonialism, customary law based on the traditional legal systems and the Islamic laws. The state and federal law court practice statutory and English common laws, but they also recognize the legitimacy and customary and Islamic law which is preferred by the 12 northern states that are mainly Islamic. (The Nigerian Embassy, 2016). However, the Shari’ah laws have been accused of being “draconian” and too harsh. While the Judiciary is supposed to be independent, it is not without pressure from the Executive and the Legislature and it has therefore become corrupt and inefficient.
Nigeria uses the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria passed on May 29, 1999, that is based on the U.S. Constitution. The English law consists of the common law, doctrines of equity, and statutes of general application in force in England in 1900 and before 1960. The customary law is based on both the non-Muslim and Muslim laws depending on the area of implementation. (Dina, Akintayo, Ekundayo). The customary laws usually unwritten reflect the laws of the individual ethnic groups and are respected in a court of law and take precedence over statutory laws in cases of family, marital, succession and guardianship. However, the legal system proves to be spurious and hard to navigate due to pluralism that can lead to conflicts. (Dina et al).
Sources of Nigerian Criminal Law
Nigerian Criminal Law is mainly sourced from statutory enactments including the constitution, the Acts of the National Assembly, the Government Councils and Subsidiary Legislations of the government department. (NOUN, 2008). They are then divided into three categories as follows: statutes made by the Federal, State and Local Government Councils which define the legal offences and subsequently their deserved punishment; the second is the Criminal Code Act, cap 77 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and the Penal Code of Law of 1959 which are enacted in the Southern and Northern states respectively; the third one is the judicial Precedent which is presented as the court decisions as interpretations of the difficult legislative provisions.
Nigeria’s judicial system gives provisions for public trials in criminal cases for due process unless it is a case involving personnel in the army. The procedural protections are explicitly described in the Criminal Procedure Act. A person suspected of committing a criminal offence can be arrested by a police officer or another citizen but shall not be handcuffed unless by order from a magistrate or the possibility of resistance and violence. The arresting persons are also required to take a statement together with submitting any items found on the person. All persons arrested should be arraigned in court if they have committed criminal acts not punishable by death and shall be granted bail within 24 hours. If no charges are brought forth against the person, he/she should be released within 24 hours.
Every to be tried shall be informed of the number of trials and be allowed to choose the locality of the trial. Each person accused of criminal acts shall be represented by legal counsel and if they cannot afford it, the state assigns legal counsel. The trials are open to the public to avail themselves at their own convenience.
References
CIA World Factbook. (2016). Nigeria. Retrieved online www.cia.gov
Dina, Y., Akintayo, J., and Ekundayo, F. (n.d.). Guide to Nigerian legal information. Hauser Global Law School Program. Retrieved online www.nyulawglobal.org
National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). (2008). Introduction to Nigerian Criminal Law. Retrieved online www.nou.edu.ng
Owojori, A. A. (2011). The effect of the emerging economic policies on investment in Nigeria. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS) 2(3): 206-214. Available online at http://jetem.scholarlinkresearch.org
South African History Online. (2012). Nigeria. Retrieved online www.sahistory.org.za
The Embassy of Nigeria (Rome-Italy). (2016). Government and Politics. Retrieved online www.nigerianrome.org
