Is Corruption Mala Prohibita or Mala In Se?

All crimes are bad, but some are more heinous than others. This is the notion behind the concepts of mala in se and mala prohibita. These concepts are deployed by jurists and scholars to determine the level of heinousness of penalised conduct. The classification of an offence as mala in se or mala prohibitum is important for several purposes including sentencing and how seriously society should view the conduct in question. It is in this context that this paper makes an enquiry as to whether corruption, being one of the most discussed crimes in Nigeria, is inherently bad or bad only because the law declares it to be so. This analysis serves as a theoretical basis that may be applied in sentencing and other juridical exercises that involve the classification of penal legislations.