THE JURISPRUDENCE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME IN NIGERIA

Abstract

In Nigeria, as well as in every other part of the world, crimes of various dimensions are committed daily. Nigeria’s laws for a long period of time centred upon prescribing punishments that can be meted out on offenders. Some of such laws had the interest of the victim or compensation and restitution as its main purpose. The paper is aimed at appraising the jurisprudence of restorative justice to victims of crime under the present criminal justice system with a view to ascertain the extent to which restorative justice can be applied to victims of economic and financial crimes in Nigeria. The study adopted doctrinal method of research anchored on appraisal and evaluation of the applicability of the legal framework for bringing restorative justice to victims of economic crimes. It was found that there is dearth of restorative justice aimed at restoring the victims of economic and financial crime to their status quo ante. The principal statutes prohibiting criminal acts in general, to wit: Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act focus mainly on punishing the perpetrators of the crime. The paper recommends that these two principal statutes should be reviewed and amended to make provisions enabling traces and recovered scammed fund and its proceeds returned to the victims of such fraud or criminality. This is in keeping with the utilitarian purpose of the law which is not only sought in the interest of the society in general but also to the victims of crime in particular.