JUDICIAL ATTITUDE TO HOMICIDE IN NIGERIA

JUDICIAL ATTITUDE TO HOMICIDE IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Criminal Law in Nigeria is so wide that it applies to a wide range of crimes. a crime is and act that is deemed by a statute or by the Common Law to be a public wrong and is therefore punishable by the state in Criminal proceeding. The crime of homicide which can be divided into two namely, lawful homicide which is a division of homicide justified or excused by law and they are self defence, suppression of riot, defence of property etc. unlawful homicide is prohibited by law with very stiff punishment melted out to its offenders. Unlawful homicide could be either murder or manslaughter, murder is an intentional killing of and human being and its carries a severe punishment of a sentence to death while manslaughter is an unintentional killing of another which must have been through provocation, negligence, causation, omission etc. and its carries a sentence of life imprisonment. the actus reus and mens rea of a crime must be proven before and accused can be convicted, the burden of proving that the accused committed the crime is on the prosecution and it never shifts. This study will be narrowed down to homicide generally, the problems facing in the proving of guilt of an accused person by the prosecution and solutions will be proferred. 

Chapter one, general introduction to the whole will be discussed. 

The second chapter unearths the different definition of crime by different jurists and legal writers, it will discuss the burden of prove in Criminal Cases, and the ingredients that constitute crime. 

Chapter three discusses extensively the critical and general overview of the meaning of homicide, under which lawful and unlawful would be discussed. 

Chapter four spouses the main aim of this study where the judicial trend of Courts will be discussed, also the origin and meaning of punishment, enforcement of homicide laws, punishment for crime of homicide will be discussed. 

The fifth chapter closes with the summary of the whole study, Recommendation would have been made towards the advancement of Criminal Law through the provisions of both the criminal code and the penal code.

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0.0: INTRODUCTION

The Nigerian Criminal law is essentially contained in two codes, the Criminal Code operating in the southern part and the Penal Code operating in the Northern part of Nigeria. Although, the Criminal Code and the Penal Code contains the bulk of the Criminal law of Nigeria and it’s the general principles, there are nevertheless, a large number of other enactments which create offences. These consist of Acts, Ordinances, Laws, Regulations, and Bye laws. A general observation which has to be is that, in the absence of specific provisions to the contrary in each statute, the general principles in the Criminal Code and Penal Code are made use of in interpreting such other statutes. However, what makes homicide unique are, among other crimes, the uniqueness of causing personal injuries and destruction of properties are irreversible harms, causing death is a harm of different order. Killing another human being is not only a worldly deprivation, in the western assault on the sacred natural order. 

Though we are inclined to think of homicide as merely the deprivation of secular interest, the historical background of desecration is essential to an adequate understanding. For example, consent is not a defence to homicide and destruction of property. The reason being that the religion conception of human life still prevails against the modern view that life is an interest that the bearer can dispose at will. There are three prominent starting places for thinking about criminal liability. In the pattern of manifest criminality, the point of departure is an act that threatens the peace and order of the community life. In the theory of subjective criminality, the starting point is the actor’s intent to violate a protected legal interest. In the law of homicide the focal point is neither the act nor the intent, but the fact of death. From this central point, the perspective is who can be held accountable, and in what way for the discretion of the human and divine realm. The question is never where to place the point of the legal compass, but how should the person being brought in to stand responsible for the death that has already occurred.

THE ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN RESOLVING DISPUTES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email

Number of Pages: 105

Price: 3000 NGN

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