The Challenges of The Doctrine of Separation of Powers Under The 1999 Nigerian Constitution
ABSTRACT The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) made the theory of separation of powers a fundamental principle of state governance. The 1999 Constitution in different sections vested the powers of government in separate organs of government as follows: Section 4 deals with the Legislative powers; Section 5 deals with the Executive powers, while Section 6 is concerned with Judicial powers. This kind of separation of powers is known as the horizontal separation...
Utility of Confessional Statement in Criminal Trials
Abstract A person standing trial for a criminal offence enjoys the presumption of innocence until his guilt is proved, the proof of which must be beyond reasonable doubt. Nonetheless, the suspect can confess to the commission of the crime and the court is empowered to convict, based on the weight of such confession. Incidentally, the court is often faced with objections to the admissibility of confessional statements based on the ground of retraction or involuntariness. Despite increased evi...
RIGHT TO LIFE AND JUSTIFICATION FOR AND AGAINST THE ABOLITION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT UNDER HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
ABSTRACT The right to life is the most basic, fundamental, primordial and supreme right which human beings are entitled to have and without which the protection of all other human rights becomes either meaningless or less effective. Indeed, the right of each person to life is something, which is intrinsic to his status as a human being and which is a necessary concomitant of human existence. The preservation of this right is one of the essential functions of the state and the numerous provi...