Transnational Organized Crime and the Role of Extradition & Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (From UNAFEI Annual Report for 1999 and Resource Material Series No. 57, P 158-165, 2000)

• NCJ Number: 195941
• Author(s): Sotonye L. Wakama
• Date Published: September 2001
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Sale Source: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: Japan

Annotation

This article discusses the remedies to transnational organized crime in Nigeria.

Abstract

Transnational crime can be in the form of the narcotics trade, money laundering, arms trafficking, and terrorism. Many countries that are havens for organized crime have neither the legal infrastructure nor the law enforcement capabilities to combat these crimes. A response to the growth of organized crime has been Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), which are primarily agreements between consenting nations to deliver to justice persons within their territories who have legally been shown to commit acts in defiance of the law, and to grant assistance in the detection of a crime. Nigeria has only in the last 10 years entered MLATs with other nations, the number of which is not clear. Nigeria’s Extradition policies have remained the same since 1957. Before Nigeria makes a request to any country, police will conduct a thorough investigation and assemble applicable evidence. In the case of a request being made to Nigeria for the surrender of a fugitive, the requesting nation (if a treaty exists) will apply for the extradition of the fugitive to the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Nigeria’s MLAT policies include an agreement with the requesting state, precise data on the subject matter, and allegations that are not of a political, racial, or religious nature. The types of assistance granted are the recording of statements, service of documents, execution of searches and seizures, physical and electronic surveillance, collection of fines, and location and identification of suspects. All requests for assistance are communicated directly to the central authority through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The central authority in Nigeria is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Proactive measures are necessary to contain organized crime. One suggestion is to make the criminal justice system more effective and efficient. Another is to improve control and management of international borders. Reliance should be on cooperation between security agencies within a country and between countries.