Elusive Justice? An Assessment of Child Justice in the Tripartite Court System in Nigeria

• Author: Iyabode Ogunniran
• Position: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria
• Pages: 51-70

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51

Elusive Justice? An Assessment of Child

Justice in the Tripartite Court System in

Nigeria

Iyabode OGUNNIRAN

1

Abstract: Objectives: There are three courts with d ifferent theoretical un derpinning administering

child justice in Nigeria. The Juvenile Court is premised on the rehabilitative ideal but researches have

shown that the apparatus to fulfill this ideal is non -existent. The Sharia Court composition is radically

different and the procedure used in such courts follow strict Islamic legal precepts. Invariably, child

offenders are not given adequate protection guaranteeing justice. Prior Work: This article assesses

child justice in these courts to determine the extent of protection of child offenders. They are young,

immature and very vulnerable. Over the years, various studies have demonstrated the need for change

in the above courts. Value: Based on law, the article examines the provisions creating the new Family

Courts. These provisions accord with international juvenile justice standards established to grant

justice to such offenders. The Family Court, just as it is being used for several purposes in other

jurisdictions, is a recent development in Nigeria. Implications: This article assesses the structure and

procedure of this new court and proposes it as being best suited for child offenders.

Keywords: Juvenile court; family court; sharia court; justice; protection

1. Introduction

Nigeria is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa comprising 36 states and the

Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. There are Southern and Northern Nigeria with a

population of about 174 million and over 250 ethnic groups.

2

The country was

colonized by Britain and it introduced the Juvenile Courts in 1943.

3

The court was

1

Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Corresponding author: iyogunniran@yahoo.com.

2

Info please http://infoplease.com/country/nigeria.htm?pageno=2 (last visited 17 June 2014).

3

The Children and You ng Person Ordinance was promulgated in 1943 for the welfare and the

treatment of young offenders. It was an adaptation of the 1933 Children and Young Persons Act in

Britain. In 1945, there were three Regions, whilst Juvenile Courts were established in the Western and

Eastern Regions, ten states in the North ern Region were not using the courts. The states were Bauchi,

Benue, Borno, Gongola, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Niger, Plateau and Sokoto (Obilade, 2005, p. 217).

These States later voluntarily created Juvenile Courts, for instance, Kano state created Juvenile Courts

with the enactment of Kano State Juvenile Courts Edict 1987.

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premised on the rehabilitative ideal. Due to the immaturity of the child, the court

should focus on helping the child to live a productive life; the state should act as

parens patriae and to create a special forum where the child could be understood

so as to develop the ability to take responsibility for his or her action (Mcnamme,

1999ab, pp. 8-9, 18-19; Behrman et al., 1996, p. 6). The courts were designed more

like social welfare agency and proceedings were to be confidential to avoid

stigmatizing the child (Clarke, 2005, p. 667). Conversely, in Nigeria, both the

structure and procedure contradict this original ideal (Solebo, 2004, p. 36). In

addition, the courts preferred sending such offenders to custodial institutions for

rehabilitation (Nwanna & Akpan, 2003, pp. 91-93). Extensive researches carried

out across the country showed that these institutions have not been able to provide

the infrastructure and environment that would help such offenders lead productive

lives (Okagbue, 1996, p. 269; Alemika & Chukwuma, 2001, pp. 70-76; Nwanna &

Akpan, 2003, pp. 113-115).

1

Based on therapeutic jurisprudence, Family Courts were created in 2003.The role is

to heal and preserve the family by addressing legal as well as underlying personal

and social problems (Reuters, 2003, p.2101). It has exclusive and unlimited

jurisdiction in all matters relating to children, with a well delineated jurisdiction

and a structure that enhances professionalism. The courts are infused with a

catalogue of international justice standards such as legal rights for the children,

discretion and non-custodial disposition methods. In respect of the latter, two novel

provisions are to be explored, counseling and community service. The courts are to

be guided by principle of reconciliation of the parties and amicable settlement of

the disputes.

2

Hence, the courts are grounded in international child-oriented justice,

focusing on early reintegration of child offenders into the society to assume

1

For the 1996 Study, Nigeria was divided into six zones: these are South West (Oyo and Edo); North

Central (Benue, Kogi and Plateau); South East (Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Rivers); North West

(Sokoto and Niger); North East (Kano and Borno) and Cosmopolitan zone (Lagos, Port Harcourt and

Kaduna). In the 2011 Stud y, the states covered were Abia; Adamawa; Bauchi; Benue; Delta; Ebonyi;

Edo; Enugu; Imo; Kaduna; Kano; Lagos; Ogun; Plateau and Rivers. For the 2003 Study, the country

was divided into six zones. These are: North West zone (Kaduna and Kano); North East Zone (Borno

and Adamawa); North Central Zone (Plateau and Federal Capital Territory); South West (Lagos and

Oyo); South East (Imo and Enugu) and South -South Zone (Cross River and Rivers).

2

Nigeria signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Children”s Convention) in

January 1990 and April 1991 respectively. In order to fulfill its international obligation, the country

enacted the Children”s Convention as the Child Rights Act in 2003. Presently, twenty six states have

adopted the Act as their Ch ild Rights Laws. Report from Sharon Oladiji, Project officer, Child

Protection and participation Section UNICEF, U.N. House Central District, Abuja, Nigeria.