RIGHTS AVAILABLE TO AN ACCUSED PERSON IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL

 

More often than not, accused persons are not well informed about their rights and privileges under the law and they wouldn’t know the chances available to them. The basis of this discourse is to intimate the reader with the available rights and privileges that an accused is entitled to under the Nigerian law (i.e. The Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended in 2011).

 When facing any criminal trial, it is the law that an accused must be accorded fair hearing and fair trial due to him and this must not be curtailled in whatever form.

Thus, prosecution of criminal cases is to be treated with great circumspect as the prosecutor is not to be seen persecuting the accused person who is not yet a convict but prosecuting with the intention of seeing that justice be done without any bias motive. In addition, respect for dignity of human life is to be taken into utmost consideration when the prosecutor is discharging his professional duties.

Briefly, I will be considering the rights that are available and that must be availed to an accused person in criminal prosecution as enshrined under the Nigerian Constitution.

1.    Right to fair hearing: An accused must be accorded fair hearing- Sec 36(1). And what can we say is fair hearing? This has been embodied in a twin rules principle of natural justice i.e. a person must not be a judge in his own case and secondly each of the party must be given an opportunity to be heard. To this end, the first cardinal principle is to the effect that an adjudicator presiding on the criminal trial must not be interested directly or indirectly in the case before him. In essence, a party in criminal trial should not be made to preside over a matter of which he is also an interested party. More importantly, the second principle is to the effect that every party in criminal proceedings must be given an opportunity to be heard in Court and seen to intimate their own side of the story which will give the court a full glimpse of what truly transpired.

2.    Right to speedy trial: It is the law by section 36 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended that criminal proceedings must be conducted within a reasonable time so as to do what is just and fair. This boils down to the principle which is to the effect that, justice must not only be done but must be seen to have been done. So an accused person is entitled to a speedy trial, so as not languish in jail unnecessary with respect to a case which he knows nothing about and at the same time not guilty of.

N.B It is to be noted that reasonable time in this instance largely depends on the circumstances of each case.

3.    Right to be informed of the offence committed: By virtue of section 36(6)(a) of 1999 FRN Constitution (as amended), an accused person must be promptly informed in the language he understands and in detail of the nature of the offence committed. This must be done at the earliest possible time in order to help the accused respond and/or put up a reasonable defence where necessary.

4.    Right to Counsel of his choice (Section 36(6)(c) of FRN 1999 Constitution (as amended): An accused person has a right to choose a counsel of his choice that will represent him and he must not be hindered in any form towards achieving this. As this will enable him competently defend him, by securing a counsel of his choice who can diligently handle his case. It is pertinent to note that if it is a capital offence it is a must he must be provided a legal representation before going into trial.

5.    Right to be afforded an interpreter where necessary ( Section 36(6)(e) of the FRN 1999 Constitution (as amended)- an accused person is entitled to an interpreter when it happens that the accused does not understand the language of the court(English Language). He is not permitted to pay for an interpreter because it is a right.

6.    Right to remain silent as guaranteed under Section 36(11) of the 1999 constitution as amended.  In essence what this means is that an accused need not give evidence at his/her trial, if he so wishes. This, however does not amount to admission as the court is entitled to draw necessary inferences.

To further buttress this fact, Justice Hugo Black once noted, in America, that the Defendant

“has an absolute, unqualified right to compel the State to investigate its own case, find its own witnesses, prove its own facts, and convince the jury through its own resources. Throughout the process, the Defendant has a fundamental right to remain silent, in effect challenging the State at every point to ‘Prove it!’”

***Excerpt from an article titled The Case against Plea Bargaining written by TIMOTHY LYNCH.

7.    Right to be afforded time and facilities to defend himself-Section 36(6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). The accused must be afforded reasonable time to prepare for his defence like adequate time to interact with his legal team and to secure witnesses which would enable him defend his case. Moreso, in any event, when his counsel is absent, the Court is obliged to grant an adjournment when necessary.

RUFUS ADEOLUWA OLODUDE Esq. (LL.B (Hons), BL)

Acknowledged Precedents:

 J.A Agaba, Practical Approach to Criminal litigation in Nigeria ( Abuja: Lawlords Publications, 2011)

F.J ONIEKORO, Practical Notes and Guides on Litigation (Enugu: Chenglo Limited, 2011)

Nigerian Law School Jottings (2012)