Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari, pardoned 159 persons who were convicted for different crimes. Among those pardoned are two former Governors, Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame who governed Plateau State and Taraba State respectively from 1999 to 2007.

On January, 22nd, 2022 Dr Rahman Adedoyin and 6 others were arraigned before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Gudu, FCT Abuja and presided over by Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi on a seven count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit murder and murder of Mr Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile - Ife, Osun State.

Section 36(12), of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides: “Subject to as otherwise provided by this Constitution, a person shall not be convicted of a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty therefore is prescribed in a written law; and in this subsection, a written law refers to an Act of the National Assembly, or a Law of a State, any subsidiary legislation or instrument under the provisions of a law”. 

The principle of fair hearing is sacrosanct in the adjudication of cases. Fair hearing requires that a person should not be judged for the action or omission he has been accused of unless he has been given sufficient notice of the court proceedings, given opportunity to present his case and also given opportunity to answer the case presented by the other party. The right to fair hearing is one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. Section 36 (1) the 1999 Constitution provides –

Corporate criminal liability is a recognised part of Nigeria’s criminal jurisprudence. A corporation or company despite being an artificial creation under the law can be tried and found guilty of a crime. Historically, it was believed that an artificial person cannot be subject of criminal liability. This is because corporations are, by themselves, incapable of actus reus and mens rea, which are the twin pillars of criminal liability. This informed the statement made by Lord Holt in 1710 that: ‘a corporation is not indictable, but

  1. Paper Presented at the Pre-Workshop Dinner Organized by Juritrust On Behavioural Insights for Judicial Officers of Edo State by Hon. Justice Esther. A. Edigin Rtd. Fmr. Chief Judge of Edo State
  2. RETRIAL OF A DEFENDANT EARLIER DISCHARGED ON TECHNICALITIES: IMPACT ON ANTI-CORRUTION WAR
  3. THE APPLICATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF LIFTING THE VEIL IN CORRUPTION CASES IN NIGERIA
  4. THE ACJA 2015 AND THE NIGERIAN CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ACT 2019: RESOLVING CONFLICTS, HARMONIZING SIMILARITIES