History of law of evidence in nigeria

Other terms used to refer to the law of evidence are evidence law synonym or federal rules of evidence, defined as rules governing admission of evidence before u. In some ways, evidence is an extension of civil and criminal procedure. There are four distinct legal systems in nigeria, which include english law, common law, customary law, and sharia law. Even though the effort to create biafra came out of the context of the challenges of independent nigeria, dont historians need to look further back to see what happened in the earlier colonial and precolonial eras to learn more about the world from which nigeria was created. This presentation is part of a course on evidence law presented by anthony marinac from cqu. According to history, the very first nigeria company law was announced in 1912. From the standpoint of religion, nigeria split roughly equally between muslims and christians with a very small minority who practice traditional religion. Laws10 evidence and proof topic 2 relevance and admissibility. The basic principle of law governing admissibility of evidence in a judicial proceeding is that a piece of evidence is admissible if it is relevant.

Culture of nigeria history, people, clothing, traditions. A brief history of forensic investigation universalclass. English law in nigeria is derived from the colonial nigeria, while. Evidence has to follow rules in most jurisdictions. The trier of fact is a judge in bench trials, or the jury in any cases involving a jury.

A conceptual analysis of the rule of l aw in nigeria. To the end that court decisions are to be based on truth founded on evidence, a primary. Rule of law is not settled despite its 2000 years or so of history. A renowned scholar of international repute professor nnamdi obiaraeri has submitted in his book contemporary law of evidence in nigeria that our judges, other classes of judicial officers mandated to apply the technical rules of evidence and our legal practitioners who remain ministers in the temple of justice must be empowered through. Despite common misconceptions, forensic investigation has been practiced, in one form or another, for thousands of years. This ordinance eventually became localized as an act after independence and continued to apply with no amendments until a new act was made in 2011. The legal profession in nigeria derives its origin from the english legal system and legal profession. The oldest fossil remains found by archaeologists in the southwestern area of iwo eleru, near akure, have been dated to about 9000 bce. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 may 1999. The law of evidence doesnt come under the purview of substantive or procedural law, but under adjective law, which defines the pleading and procedure via which substantive laws are brought into practice.

Prominent features of the book include an indepth discussion, backed with very current case and statutory law, of nagging issues in the law of evidence, like admissibility of computergenerated evidence generated from conventional computers. The evidence act 2011 is the main source of the law of evidence in nigeria. The rules of evidence were developed over several centuries and are based upon the rules from angloamerican common law brought to the new world by early settlers. So, it is only evidence of relevant facts which is admissible in evidence. But not all evidence is admissible and each jurisdiction is governed by strict rules for how evidence is treated in a case. The first law on evidence in nigeria was the evidence ordinance 1945.

In addition to being a basic text, current and most. Dec 04, 2016 for criminal law, the procedural law dealing with the process of enforcing it is the administration of criminal justice act. Her areas of research include law librarianship, legal research methods and information technology and law. The evidence act, 1938 uk the act remains the source of the rule of evidence on admissibility of documentary evidence as to the fact in issue, which is now part of the operative law of evidence in force in nigeria. Prominent features of the book include an in depth discussion, backed with very current case and statutory law, of nagging issues in the law of evidence, like admissibility of computergenerated evidence generated from conventional computers, gsms, atm machines, internet. In the case of federal republic of nigeria vs mike 2014 1. Two kinds of fact are very important in the law of evidence. Historical evolution of nigerian criminal law the jet lawyer. Before the discovery and impact of dna in the early 1980s, the advent of fingerprinting in the early 1800s and even before photographs were used in the late 1800s to capture images of killers on a victims eyeballs, as was the case during the investigation of the worlds.

This book, the nigerian law of evidence, is inspired by the authors lecture notes on the subject at school of law, department of common law, kwara state college of arabic and islamic legal studies, where he taught for nearly a decade before moving on to the department of public law, university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria, since 2001. Evidence or judicial evidence is the means by which facts are proved before courts. The current legal regime on labouremployment in nigeria, has left behind the strict observance of common law principles and has embraced progressive international labour standards. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation area dates back at least 9000 bc. Generally, evidence law establishes a group of limitations that courts enforce against attorneys in an attempt to control the various events that the trial process presents in an adversarial setting. Pdf a conceptual analysis of the rule of law in nigeria.

In this article i point to sources that indicate that even into the middle of the eighteenth century, the modem law of evidence was not yet in operation. Though there is archaeological evidence that societies have been living in nigeria for more than twentyfive hundred years, the borders of modern nigeria were not created until the british consolidated their colonial power over the area in 1914. Evidence of the rule of law in nigeria principles of. History and sources of nigerian law of evidence aare afe. The complete guide to sources of evidence law the jet lawyer. Evidence of human occupation in nigeria dates back thousands of years. Customary law in nigeria can be described simply as an amalgam of customs or habitual practices accepted by members of a particular community as having the force of law as a result of long established usage. Evidence may be given of facts in issue and relevant facts. The history and development of company law in nigeria answers. History of the legal profession in nigeria law repository. The defined periods in nigerias labouremployment law history are the periods before and after the national industrial court of nigeria nicn in its enlarged jurisdiction as demonstrated in decided cases. In law, evidence is an object of some kind, a document of some kind, or the testimony of a person in a court of law. A critical analysis of corroboration under the nigerian law of evidence abstract.

This provision of the evidence act makes it applicable that evidence maybe given of the existence or nonexistence of a fact but relevancy is the key word here. The law of criminal evidence governs how parties, judges, and juries offer and then evaluate the various forms of proof at trial. Religious and customary laws in nigeria emory law emory. The concept of facts in issue has been dealt with in a. A conceptual analysis of the rule of law in nigeria. Evidence is used to show something is either true or false. In order to trace the history of the law of evidence in our country, we.

The law of evidence, also known as the rules of evidence, encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a. The law governing the admissibility of evidence is found in the nigerian law of evidence. A critical analysis of corroboration under the nigerian. Eshugbayi eleko v the officer administering the government of nigeria no 1 1928 6 nilr 19. Another evidence of the rule of law in nigeria is the fact that the constitution has outlined several rights that the citizens of the land can enjoy. This is due to the fact that the law of evidence concerns itself with the procedure that parties have to follow in order to resolve their legal issues. Admissibility of computer generated evidence in nigeria, by. Issues relating to competence and compellability of child evidence have been accorded much attention by the judiciary in making sure that children in given evidence in court are not. Apr 04, 2015 the concept and historical background of the evidence law. The nigerian evidence act recognises the use of electronic signatures. Mar 30, 2016 before the advent of the british to the area now known as nigeria, there were different systems for the administration of criminal law. To establish that a valid customary law marriage was contracted, evidence must first be led as to the customary law of marriage of the locality concerned and the essentials of such marriage.

Leading digital transaction management solutions can provide electronic records that are admissible in evidence under section 93 of the nigerian evidence act, to support the existence, authenticity and valid acceptance of a contract. What is the history of divorce law in nigeria answers. The constitution of nigeria is the supreme law of the country. Customary law marriage being an institution which create status, must be strictly proved in judicial proceedings.

Feb 08, 2014 laws10 evidence and proof topic 2 relevance and admissibility. Historical development of law of evidence the law of evidence in nigeria. The law of nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. The history and development of company law in nigeria. In that year congress created the federal rules of evidence. Jun 10, 2014 the history and development of company law in nigeria. Internal best practices can be established by leading evidence or by urging the court to take judicial notice of the same. In most parts of the north, the criminal justice system was regulated by.

The law of evidence is rightly categorised under adjectival law. Law of evidence in nigeria, 2nd edition, published in 20, is based on the provisions of the nigerian evidence act, 2011. A critical analysis of corroboration under the nigerian law. As a result of historical development, the status of witness was accorded to. Remoral of incapacity to tstity from crime or mteresr 3. Numerous ancient african civilizations settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire.

These rules determine what evidence must or must not be considered by the trier of fact in reaching its decision. Evidence, in law, any of the material items or assertions of fact that may be submitted to a competent tribunal as a means of ascertaining the truth of any alleged matter of fact under investigation before it. Before the advent of the british to the area now known as nigeria, there were different systems for the administration of criminal law. The judge weighs the evidence and establishes the facts from the more established pieces of evidence. The law of evidence, also known as the rules of evidence, encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. It is a practice that was hardly known to customary law.

Some of these rights include the right to life, the right to own property, the right to fair trial in the law court and many others. The constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999 with annotations lagos. Prominent features of the book include an indepth discussion, backed with very current case and statutory law, of nagging issues in the law of evidence, like admissibility of computergenerated evidence generated from conventional computers, gsms, atm machines, internet, websitewebsite postings, computerised clocks, traffic lights, audio and video machines, binoculars. The purpose is to be fair to both parties, disallowing the raising of allegations without a basis in provable fact.

There is no law that says the plaintiff or the prosecution must bring a million witnesses or evidence to court before he can succeed in his case. Admissibility of computer generated evidence in nigeria. Electronic evidence in nigeria by timothy tion this work is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoncommercialnoderivs 3. Lawnigeria nigerian legal resources, intelligence and. The sources of the law of evidence in nigeria are important for two reasons. The history of divorce law in nigeria changed in 1857 when people were allowed to divorce their spouses. Admissibility of evidence in nigerian law modish project. Prior to this, divorce was only reserved for the men only.

African universities press law in africa series no. Evidence law simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The law of evidence relates to the proof of facts before the court and this involves. In the united states, for example, evidence was based on legal precedent until 1975. The concept and historical background of the evidence law. It is multisegment free access center for intelligence and instruments relating to nigerias legal and policy circuit. Part i general 1 evidence may be given of facts in issue and relevant facts. If youre involved in a criminal case, evidence including physical evidence as well as witness testimony will be crucial to how the jury decides the outcome. Akinola, the law of evidence ibadan spectrum books limited. In the southern part of nigeria, the criminal justice system was administered using the local traditions of the society. The law of evidence comes under this because it provides for the procedures that parties have to follow in order to establish facts in issue, which in turn aid in enforcing their rights, duties and obligations. The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc.

The new evidence act although retains some of the old provisions such as section 31, introduced new provisions which cover new legal issues which were not covered by the old act. Relevancy and admissibility of facts under nigerian law of. The law of evidence is dependent on admissibility and relevancy of evidence or facts. The act contains the greatest of our general law relating to evidence. This section shall not enable any person to give evidence of a fact which he is disentitled prove by any provision of the law for the time being in force. These three readings are excerpts from a book that seeks to recover the history of the igbo people in the nineteenth century on the eve of colonialism. The law of evidence is also concerned with the quantum, quality, and type of proof needed to prevail in litigation. The spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwideabout onethird of the planets populationand killed an estimated 20 million. Eshugbayi eleko v the officer administering the government of nigeria no 2 1931 3 nilr 24.