The Relationship between the Constitutional Right to Silence and Confessions in Nigeria

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" The Relationship between the Constitutional Right to Silence and Confessions in Nigeria "
Esa O. Onoja

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1064509
Doc. No	:	LA108138
Call No	:	‭10.1163/17087384-12342032‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Esa O. Onoja
Title & Author	:	The Relationship between the Constitutional Right to Silence and Confessions in Nigeria [Article]\ Esa O. Onoja
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill \| Nijhoff
Title of Periodical	:	African Journal of Legal Studies
Date	:	2014
Volume/ Issue Number	:	6/2-3
Page No	:	189–211
Abstract	:	The extraction of confessions from suspects under torture by security agents is a notorious fact in Nigeria. Ironically, the Constitution of the country guarantees a right to silence, but courts in Nigeria predicate the admissibility of confessions on the common law-based Judges Rules and Evidence Act 2011 without linking it to the constitutionally guaranteed right to silence. This article reviews the legal rules on the admissibility of confessions in Nigeria and contends that without attaching constitutional flavour to the admissibility of confessions, the legislature and the courts in Nigeria unwittingly water the ground for the systemic extraction of confession from suspects in custody in Nigeria. The article suggests that the courts in the country consider the implication of the guarantee of the right to silence in the country’s constitution in the determination of the admissibility of confessions to promote fair trial in criminal cases in the country. The extraction of confessions from suspects under torture by security agents is a notorious fact in Nigeria. Ironically, the Constitution of the country guarantees a right to silence, but courts in Nigeria predicate the admissibility of confessions on the common law-based Judges Rules and Evidence Act 2011 without linking it to the constitutionally guaranteed right to silence. This article reviews the legal rules on the admissibility of confessions in Nigeria and contends that without attaching constitutional flavour to the admissibility of confessions, the legislature and the courts in Nigeria unwittingly water the ground for the systemic extraction of confession from suspects in custody in Nigeria. The article suggests that the courts in the country consider the implication of the guarantee of the right to silence in the country’s constitution in the determination of the admissibility of confessions to promote fair trial in criminal cases in the country.
Descriptor	:	Admissibility
Descriptor	:	Confession
Descriptor	:	Constitution
Descriptor	:	International Law: General Interest
Descriptor	:	Nigeria
Descriptor	:	Police
Descriptor	:	Right to Silence
Descriptor	:	Torture
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/17087384-12342032‬