Aligning the Jurisdiction of Tribunals and the Regular Courts in our Justice System of the Next Century

Abstract

“History makes men wise. It helps them to know the past, to understand the present and to forecast the future.” Professor A. L. Rowse: The Use of History¹

The history (or origin) of Special Tribunals charged with the duty of conducting trials of persons accused of one crime or another can be traced to the first Military Government in Nigeria. The period 1966–1979 manifested a new approach to the problems of the control of criminal behaviour in the society. These were the difficult years, characterized by instability in Government. It culminated in a civil war which was fought for nearly three years. This was the period with efforts at reconstruction, another coup d'état, attempted coup d'état before the preparation for return to civilian rule in 1979. The civil war which raged savagely between 1967–1970, had its devastating and destabilizing effect on the population and its economy. The criminal policy of that period was characterized by harsh mandatory minimum sentences, and the increase in the number of capital offences created. Besides these measures, one outstanding feature of this period which is still with us is that criminal administration was not entirely left to the judiciary. A number of Tribunals were appointed to deal with the various problem areas considered as deserving immediate attention in the public interest.²