STRICT LIABILITY OFFENCES IN NIGERIA: DELIMITING THE SCOPE

Abstract

Crime is devoid of exact precision. However, certain elements must be present in an attempt to define crime.Elements such as mens rea and actus reus is a desideratum in the definition of crime. Strict liability offences arecreated in Britain in the 19th century to improve working and safety standards in factories. These laws are appliedeither in regulatory offenses enforcing social behavior where minimal stigma attaches to a person uponconviction, or and concerned with the prevention of harm, and wishes to maximize the deterrent value of theoffense. The article critically examined strict liability in Nigeria and other jurisdiction especially England, therationale of strict liability, statutory interpretation, purpose in imposing strict liability, public danger posed bydefendant’s conduct, drugs and guns reform under the English law, arguments for and against strict liability. Thearticle concludes that to punish conduct without reference to the actor’s state of mind is both infectious and unjust.It is infectious because conduct unaccompanied by an awareness of the factors making it criminal does not markthe actor as one who needs to be subjected to punishment in order to deter him or others from behaving similarlyin future, nor does it single him out as a socially dangerous individual who needs to be incapacitated or reformed.It is unjust because the actor is subjected to the stigma of a criminal conviction without being morallyblameworthy.