Penalties in the Nigerian Criminal Justice System

A dearth of legislation pertaining to alternative sanctions in the Nigerian Criminal Justice System exists with imprisonment being the popular punishment of choice. Unfortunately, non-convicted persons commonly referred to as awaiting trial inmates are also lost in the NigerianCriminal Justice System, due to delays in the execution and delivery of criminal justice to apprehended persons. This has resulted in overcrowded prisons and invariably, a clogged criminal justice system, thereby defeating the key objectives of the Criminal Justice System in the country, which is to apprehend violators of the law, the proper dispensation of the law, and appropriate sanctions meted out to those erring as at when due.This book analyses the legal framework of the Nigerian Criminal Justice System, highlighting areas where the practice and legislation in foreign jurisdictions pertaining to the admissibility of alternative sanctions differ from what obtains in Nigeria which the Nigerian law could replicate and recommending proactive legislation for alternative sanctions that would aid the courts and benefit other units in the Nigerian Criminal Justice system upon implementation.