An Examination of the Selective Application of the Doctrine of Plea Bargain in Nigeria

Abstract

A lot of controversies have greeted the import of the American developed concept of plea bargain to the Nigerian criminal justice system, because of how the concept is made to become a subtle way of letting corrupt government officials and other public figures escape justice. This controversy and suspicion are largely because of the way and manner the anti-graft agency is making use of the concept in selective and biased manner. That is by selecting the persons or cases to apply the concept to, leaving a lot of deserving cases out. This has the negative effect of defeating some of the aims of the concept to wit: speedy justice and cutting congestion of cases and inmates. This piece examines the selective manner the Nigerian prosecutors are making use of the concept to the detriment of the country's justice sysyem. The paper found among others that presently, the concept of the plea bargain is largely restricted to corrupt related cases which do not even near a quarter of the total criminal cases to the detriment of the Nigerian criminal justice. It is the recommendation of the paper that plea bargain as a matter of public policy be extended to cover all property related cases and other deserving ones especially those where restitution is possible. The study is based on doctrinal method of research which makes reference to both primary and secondary materials