TRIAL IN ABSENTIA AND THE RIGHT TO A FAIR HEARING UNDER THE NIGERIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract

Trials are most commonly regarded as being held in the presence of the defendant. The essence of the requirement that the defendant be present throughout his trial is to guarantee fair hearing in judicial process. However, certain exceptional situations may demand that the court order the trial to proceed without the presence of the defendant. Such a situation envisages what is referred to, in common parlance, as a trial in absentia. Numerous authors have argued in favour and against the adoption of this form of trial. Nevertheless, the absence of the main actor in a court drama always entails a challenge to the due process of law, and a need for proper remedies to address such a challenge. This paper therefore seeks to analyse whether the said concept impinge the right to a fair hearing granted to the defendant by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.