PLEA BARGAIN IN NIGERIA: A CASE FOR LIMITATION OF THE SCOPE

Abstract

Unarguably, plea bargain is a concept globally recognized in the
administration of criminal justice as a reformative tool for speedy justice
delivery. Plea bargain is regarded as an alternative dispute resolution
mechanism applied only in criminal cases whereby a defendant enters into a
mutual agreement with the prosecutor to enable such criminal defendant to
obtain a lesser punishment or charge before a court of law. Nigeria has
adopted the concept of plea bargain as part of its criminal jurisprudence. The
Administration of Criminal Justice Act1, clearly reveals the presence of plea
bargain in the Nigerian criminal jurisprudence. It was discovered in the course
of this research that plea bargain as it is constituted today has a negative
impact on the economic development of Nigeria. A situation where the corrupt
citizens would steal billions of Naira only to return a paltry sum through the
platform of plea bargaining has drained the Nigerian economy. Hence there is
need to urgently address this menace by limiting the scope of plea bargaining
to exclude social economic crimes, rape and defilement. This is what this article
seeks to achieve. A doctrinal research methodology was adopted by reference
to relevant primary and secondary sources of law. The article recommended
inter alia that the scope of Plea bargain under the Nigerian administration of
criminal justice be amended so that it will not apply to offences against
women, children below the age of fourteen (14) years and to offences affecting
the socio-economic conditions of Nigeria. This will greatly assist in the crusade
against corruption, bearing in mind that corruption affects the socio-economic
condition of Nigeria.