JUVENILE JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF KOGI STATE
JUVENILE JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF KOGI STATE
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Date
2012-09
Authors
ZAKARI, Wahab Abdullahi
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Abstract
Juvenile Justice System is a special track of the criminal justice system.
Essentially, the system is expected to be child-friendly in form and
application. The need for a child-friendly justice system is borne out of
the realization that children are vulnerable and that subjecting a child
offender to the full weight of the criminal justice system will have an
adverse effect on the child and the society in general. The general
criminal justice system including juvenile justice system in Nigeria is
retributive and punitive contrary to current trends, which emphasizes
rehabilitation, reformation and re-integration as the main goal. In view of
the importance for which the promotion and protection of the right of the
child avails the world, issues of children has assumed a global interest
and attention. To this end, juvenile justice administration is no longer a
matter within the exclusive domain of national governments. Therefore,
the Nigerian juvenile justice system must be measured against the
parameters set by United Nations and other Continental or Regional
organizations. Historically, Nigeria was in the forefront of Nations
committed to the right and welfare of the child. Nigeria enacted the
Children and Young Persons Act in 1943 and it was subsequently
adopted in Northern Nigeria in 1958. These laws predate any
international instruments on the rights and welfare of the child. Similarly,
Nigeria was among the first set of countries in the world to ratify the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1991
and domesticated its provisions by passing the Child Rights Act in 2003.
This development encouraged the adoption of the act as State laws in
some states in Nigeria. The promulgation of the Child Rights Act exposed
the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act to systemic
weakness and problems undermining its main objective, thereby
provoking a discourse. In comparison to the standard set by international
instruments, it became obvious that the legal and institutional framework
involved in juvenile justice administration in Nigeria were ineffective and
greatly undermined by army of problems and challenges. Consequently,
this research examined the provisions of the laws on juvenile justice
administration in Nigeria and the institutions responsible for its
enforcement with the view to make the system responsive, effective and
result driven.
1
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL
Description
BEING A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POST GRADUATE
SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA,
NIGERIA
Keywords
JUVENILE, JUSTICE, ADMINISTRATION, NIGERIA:, CASE STUDY, KOGI, STATE