AN ANALYSIS OF PLEA BARGAIN AS A TOOL OF ENHANCING CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM IN NIGERIA

The concept of ‘Plea Bargain’ is a new phenomenon in the Nigerian Legal System which has been trailed with a lot of controversy. It is deeply entrenched in the Criminal Justice System of Countries, like United States of America, Poland etcetera. In Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is the first agency that took the approach of negotiating cases out of court with the consent of all parties in a case. This work critically examined the origin of Plea Bargain, its development across the globe, issues emerging from the emergence of practice of plea bargain in Nigeria as well as its aims and objective. The emergence of plea bargain in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in Nigeria had set the stage for research into its origin and history, merits and demerits in the country’s enduring democracy and constitutionalism. After fifteen years of transition from militarism to constitutional democracy, the country’s criminal justice system is still on a slow march hence the need to entrench die practice of plea bargain in the system since its acceptance the world over has continued to be in the increase. This work primarily analyzed the state of plea bargain in Nigeria and the implement-ability of the relevant provisions in die Administration of Criminal Justice Act vis-a-vis its applicability in countries like United State of America; Italy, Pakistan and Poland. A crucial question that encapsulates die main objective.