Reaction of Nigerian Courts to Crime - A Survey of Criminal Case Dispositions in Three Nigerian Lower Courts

• NCJ Number: 88168
• Journal: Canadian Criminology Forum Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1982) Pages: 1-10
• Author(s): B Owomero
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The persons processed through the lower courts of Nigeria come from the lower social classes, indicating some support for the conflict view of the criminal justice system, according to which the judicial process is a mechanism by which the dominant class regulates and controls the behavior of the subordinate class.

Abstract

The conflict perspective contrasts with the consensus perspective, according to which the judicial process is a mechanism for conflict resolution and gives evenhanded treatment to defendants based only on legally relevant variables. The study data came from the records of 510 defendants processed by 3 courts between 1971 and 1977. The research focused on five kinds of offenses: assault, theft, burglary, embezzlement, and traffic violations. The records frequently lacked information on the defendants' social characteristics, occupations, and the granting of bail. However, the available information showed that most defendants were males aged 18 to 30. Their occupations included farmer, laborer, cook, artisan, clerical workers, petty traders, and others. A total of 41 percent of the 175 defendants who were granted bail were unable to make use of it. Only about 10 percent of the defendants hired a lawyer for their defense. The sentences usually consisted of imprisonment or a fine with the alternative of imprisonment. Although no direct evidence existed to demonstrate that differential sentencing is a common practice in Nigerian lower courts, the predominantly low social status of those prosecuted suggests that some social sifting may have occurred in earlier stages of the decisionmaking process. This interpretation supports Hagan's view that the low status of offenders prosecuted in particular Canadian jurisdictions may have reduced the significance of class-linked factors as important variables in later stages of the dispositional process. Tables, notes, and six references are provided.