PLEA BARGAINING AND THE TWIN PILLARS OF NATURAL JUSTICE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

One of the objectives of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA) is to improve the operations of the criminal justice system in Nigeria and plea bargaining is one of the modern concepts introduced into the ACJA for this purpose. At present, plea bargaining has been perceived as focusing on corruption and financial crimes cases to the detriment of other cases and issues of pressing importance to the criminal justice system, the defendant and the twin pillars of natural justice. The twin pillars are recognized as fundamental to a fair and just criminal justice system. This paper evaluates the concept of plea bargaining and its effects on the twin pillars of natural justice in Nigeria, viz; nemo judex in causa sua and audi alterem partem which relate to fair hearing and the rule against bias. This paper found that the fate of the defendant as contained in the principles of natural justice is compromised in diverse areas based on the practice of the concept of plea bargaining in Nigeria. It revealed the extent to which the provisions of the various extant laws are practiced by the criminal justice system, most especially the courts, prosecutors and defence counsels vis-a-vis the defendant’s constitutional right to fair hearing. It also found, amongst others that the right of appeal of a defendant is taken away the moment he assents to a plea agreement, and the defendant’s plea of guilt is often times not subjected to a thorough check to establish its voluntariness. It is recommended that the ACJA 2015 should be amended to reflect the right of a defendant and his representative to make an offer for a plea agreement. Also, court procedural rules could be amended to make provision for ascertaining the voluntariness of a defendant’s plea agreement in order to mitigate the negative effect of plea bargaining on the principles of natural justice.