The Propriety of Admissibility of Improperly Obtained Evidence in Criminal Trials in Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
The rules relating to the admissibility of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal proceeding is a matter of court discretion;
it question of whether this kind of evidence ought to be rejected because it was obtained illegally, that is, by a crime, a tort, or a breach of the constitution or other laws, involves a different choice between two competing policies in support,
it is argued that since its reliability is not affected by the manner it was obtained it ought to be rejected since the consequence would often bet that a guilty person would be acquitted on the other hand.
It is argued that to admit such evidence involves the tacit encouragement of improper practices by the authorities, and such practices constitute at least as great evil as the occasional accused guaranteed by the constitution of Nigeria.
It is therefore recommended that the court in exercising its discretionary power should adopt an exclusionary rule to execute evidence methodology adopted in this work is a comparative analysis of other jurisdiction.
Finally a panacea is proposed which is aimed at curing the defect in the Nigeria law on the admissibility of illegally obtained evidence in Nigeria with reference to relevant materials.
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The sensitivity as to the nature of the subject matter is my motivation, and inspiration to write on the subject, this is because any misapplication or undue consideration of illegally obtained evidence amount to injustice to the accused
Statement of Problem
The problem which is intended to be tackled by writing on this topic or subject include
- Infringement of the right of the accused (fundamental rights)
- The injustice that will be meted out to the accused.
- Violation of government officials in obtaining evidence
In undertaking the study, the writer kept the following pertinent questions at the back of his mind:
- What is the end of justice in criminal matters?
- Will it be dependent on application of the doctrine of technical issues?
- Will any harm come to an accused person, by the admissibility of improperly obtained evidence in criminal trial.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Antonella Cuppillari (1975) The Nuts and Bolts of Proof, Second Editions (Academic Press) .
Austin (1975) How to do things with words
Bryan Garnar (2004) Blacks law Dictionary Editions (West Academic).
Eoghan Casey (2000) Hand Book of Digital Forensics and Investigation Hale Beatriz Sandra The Discourse of Court Interpreting (John Benjamins publishing)
Nwadialo Fidelis (1981) Modern Law of Evidence (Ethiope Publishing Corporating) Murphy, Frederick Marain webste’s collegiate Dictionary, Elevanth Edition
Wigmore (1904) A treatise on the system of Evidence in triats at common Law (Boston. Little brown)
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Tags: admissibility of documentary evidence in nigerian courts, admissibility of evidence in civil proceedings, admissibility of evidence in criminal proceedings, effect of contradictory evidence, hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings, relevance and admissibility of evidence in nigeria
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