RIGHT OF AN ACCUSED PERSON UNDER THE NIGERIAN LAW

Edited By: Asy'kobi

Under the Nigerian criminal justice the constitutional right of an accused person is enshrined in Section 35 and 36 of the Constitution of  the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 such rights include, the right to be informed promptly in the language that he understands, the details and nature of the offence of the accused, the right to be given adequate time to prepare his defence, the right to defend himself in person or by legal practitioner of his own choice, the right to have an interpreter free of charge if he does not understand the language of the court, the right to have record of the proceeding kept and the right to have copies of this within seven days of the conclusion of the case, the right to remain silent during the trial, the right not to be tried and convicted twice for the same offence, the right to be presumed innocent until he is proved guilty and the right not to be charged for an unwritten offence. All these rights are aimed at ensuring that an accused person is not unjustly dealt with.


Also the relevant provisions in CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT and the CHILD RIGHT ACT shed more light on the rights of an accused person in criminal trials. The thesis in its totality is channeled toward making sure that Nigerians are fully informed/aware of their rights especially the accused person and how it could be enforced. This project seek to look at the the right of an accused person vis-a-vis the relevant provisions.

It is common for people to judge without knowing the particular facts of a matter. If a public officer were to be accused of fraud and financial misappropriation or a thief accused of stealing in the market, tongues would wag non stop condemning and calling the accused persons all sorts of names and basically crucifying them. Even though that person may just have been innocent. I am glad our legal system does not operate that way.

When a person is arrested and accused of a crime, he must be promptly charged and brought before a court. The constitution guarantees an accused person a free and fair trial as provided for in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
Fairness of a trial is fundamental to the administration of justice, it does not only give integrity to the legal system but it also ensures the confidence of the society in the justice system.

The constitutional safeguards for fair trial include;


· Every person is guaranteed fair hearing. The concept of fair hearing is at the foundation of the legal system, two major principles of fair hearing are "Audi Alteram Partem" meaning "hear the other party" and "Nemo Judex In Causa Sua" meaning "no one should be a judge in his own case".

·All trials must be held in public. The court must be accessible to members of the public except in situations where the court believes that it may be against public interest. l Every one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. l It is very important that every accused person be  informed of his offense at the point of arrest.

· Any one charged with a criminal offence is entitled to adequate time and facilities  to prepare for his defence. l Any one charged with a criminal offence is entitled to defend himself in person or by legal practitioner of his own choice.

· Every accused person has a right to call witnesses in his defence and also to cross examine the witnesses of the prosecution. l If the accused person cannot understand the language used for trial, he has a constitutional right to an interpreter.

The constitution guarantees that an accused person shall not be convicted of any crime for acts that did not constitute a crime at the time the person committed it. The law does not work retroactively. l Any person who has been pardoned for an offence can never be tried for that offence again.

 An accused person may chose to personally stay mute and not say anything in his defence.

·Any person accused of a crime must be charged of an offence known to law.
Every Nigerian is guaranteed his fundamental human rights and no law can strip it off him.

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