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15 Jun 2018

Synopsis of the contending issues of jurisdiction in Nigerian Criminal Law



Criminal Law jurisdiction is the fundamental principle of law, particularly within the province of criminal law which demands that the trial court must not only be vested with the powers to try an offence, but also to impose appropriate punishment. Jurisdiction therefore refers to the competency, authority, power and legality of the court to adjudicate over issue brought before it and to impose sanction.
The jurisdiction of the court could also be seen as limits impose on its power to hear and determine the issue between parties. It is the authority which a court has to decide over matters that are litigated before it or take cognizance of matters presented in a formal way for it decision. This jurisdiction may be territorial or geographical and divisional jurisdiction. Jurisdiction is so fundamental to adjudication, and should always be settled before trial, because a court without jurisdiction is without vires to determine any issue in the case. Any proceedings, judgement, and or order of the court without jurisdiction, becomes an excise in futility.
In the case of Madukolo, v Nkemdilim (1962) 2 SCNLR, It was decided that before any court of law assumes jurisdiction so as to adjudicate on issue brought before it, the court must be competent; and a court is competent only when;
a.      The court is properly constituted as to members and qualification of the bench; no member is disqualified for one reason or the other.
b.      The subject matter of the case must be within the jurisdiction of the court.
c.       The case brought before the court must follow due process of law and upon fulfilment of a condition precedent to exercise jurisdiction.
Contending Issues of Jurisdiction
A number of issues were raise regarding the application of penal code and the criminal code against the background of Nigeria as one indivisible country. These issues are;
Jurisdictional Issue I:
 Where a person is accused of an offence committed under the laws of the Northern region (now state).
Looking at such issue, the accused will by virtue of such commission of the offence within the Region (now State) be held liable.  Section 4 (1) of the penal code provides that:
Where by the provision of any law of the state the doing of any act or the making of any omission is made an offence, those provisions shall apply to every person who is in northern Nigeria at the time of his doing the act or making the omission.
The provision of section 4(1) as seen above gives jurisdiction to all courts of criminal trials within the Region (now State) to punish every person who is found guilty of any offence within the Region (now State) except if under any other law he is excused. It is not a defence therefore that the person is not a native of Northern region or an indigene of the state, or to plead any other nationality other than Nigeria. To this connection, it should be noted that a Ghanaian, on a short visit to the a Northern State in Nigeria will by the provision of section 4(1) of the penal code render himself liable to punishment if he committed an offence under the penal code.
Jurisdictional Issue II
In a situation where the commission of an offence i.e. the doing of an act or the making of an omission occurs partly or substantially in one Region ( now State) and the subsequent part or elements of the offence takes place outside the Region (now State).
In the above issue, the provision of section 4 (2) (a) applies. Thus, the section provides that;
Where any such offence comprises several elements and any act or events occur which, if they occurred in the state, would constitute an offences, and any of such acts omissions or events occur in the state, although the other acts, omission or events which if they occurred in the state would be elements of the offence, occur elsewhere than in the state then:
(a)  If the act or omission which in the case of an offence committed wholly in the state would be the initial element of the offence, occurs in the state, the person who does that act or makes that omission is guilty of an offence of the same kind and is liable to the same punishment as if all the subsequent element of the offence occurred in the state.
Arising from the provision of section 4(2)(a) above, it is immaterial that only the initial element or subsequent part of the offence took place in the Region (now State) and notwithstanding which element or part did take place in the region (now state), the offender would still be liable or guilty of same punishment as if all the subsequent elements or parts thereof occurred in the Region (now State). Similarly where the initial element of an offence is committed within a Region (now State) that State will by virtue of the aforementioned section assumed jurisdiction to entertain the issue, even though the subsequent act that complete the offence occurred elsewhere. for instance, Where the initial element of crime took place in Benue while the subsequent act occurred in Nasarawa, it is immaterial that only the initial element or subsequent part of the offence took place in either of the state and not withstanding which element did take place, both the two state has jurisdiction to try the matter and the offender will be held liable or guilty of same punishment as if all the subsequent element or part thereof occurred in either of the state.

One of those classical judicial authorities which illustrates the jurisdiction of the trial court over the initiation or completion of series of acts amounting to crimes in different regions was the case of Patrick Jacob Osoba v the Queen (1961)1 N.L.R.,1 in this case the Nigerian court assumed jurisdiction in a case that involved fraudulent person who had written and posted a letter from Lagos to induce London bank to put money to his use. It was held that since the letter was posted in Nigeria its court would have jurisdiction notwithstanding the fact that other element of the offence happen outside Nigeria. Obviously, this case reveals that it was the initial element which took place in Lagos that conferred jurisdiction on Lagos trial court.
It should be noted that by virtue of section 4(4) of the penal code, the provisions of subsection (2) does not extend to a case in which the only material event that occurs in Northern Nigeria is the death of a person whose death is caused by an act or omission at a place outside, and at a time when that person was outside, the state.
With reference to the above provision where a person committed an offence of murder in Abuja and the victim dies in Nasarawa, only the court in Abuja has jurisdiction to try the matter, in other words the court in Nasarawa has no jurisdiction over such matter. This is so because death and only death is immaterial.

Jurisdiction Issue III
In an event where a person committed a crime outside the Region (now State) which act or omission if done within the region (now state) would have amounted to an offence and he afterwards enters the Region (now State) or in a situation where a person, after committing a criminal act in one region (now state) later moves to another region (now state).
On the above issue, section 4(2)(b) of the penal code and section 12 A (2b) of the criminal code will be invoke. Thus section 4(2) (b) of the penal code provides that:
If that act or omission occurs elsewhere than in northern Nigeria and the person who does that act or makes that omission afterwards enters northern Nigeria, he is by such entry guilty of an offence of the same kind and is liable to the same punishment as if that act or omission had occurred in northern Nigeria and he had been in Northern Nigeria when it occurred.
To this connection, where drinking alcohol is an offence in Kano and Mr. A who is an indigene of Kano, cross border to Enugu and engage in drinking alcohol where it is not an offence in Enugu. Mr. A cannot be tried in Enugu in as much as there was no any law prohibiting the act in Enugu and in particular, the penal code does not applied. But where Mr. A after drinking alcohol in Enugu he move to Kano where he exhibit certain behaviour as a consequences of that which he drank, in this instance, Mr. A will be liable for committing an offence of drinking in Kano. The rationale of the law here is to prevent the consequences of intoxication within the region.
Jurisdictional Issue IV
Another burning legal issue, is whether or not the subsequent entry by the offender into the jurisdiction (state) was voluntary or involuntary).
To address the above mentioned issue, section 4 (2) (b) of the penal code and section 12 A (2) (b) of the criminal code applies.
Also in the case of Patrick Njovens v state (1973) NSCC 257, the trial court convicted four accused persons of abetting the commission of a robbery and of receiving stolen property. While the 1st, 2nd and 3nd accused were convicted of accepting gratification, and of failing to arrest persons known to have committed offence of armed robbery, all the four accused were convicted of harbouring known offenders. Their appeal turned mainly on interpretation of the provision of section 4 (2) of the penal code and the issues raised were:
a.      What is the meaning of the term “element” as used in section 4 (2) of the penal code-whether it could have a wider meaning or limited to actusreus only.
b.      Whether a person can be convicted in one state for an offence which he committed in another state.
c.       Whether entry as used in section 4 (2) (b) of the penal code law includes forceful entry through custody.
The supreme Court Held that:                                                
-          The words element in section 4(2) of the penal code is more widely conceived and should not be limited either to an actusreusor mens in conventional criminal jurisprudence.
-          That the initial element referred to in the section is the initial act or omission concerned and for the purpose of applying the section, it is necessary to look for the initial element.
-          That if the initial element occurs in the state even though other elements do not, the person who does the initial act or omission is punishable by the state under the penal code.
-          That the entry postulated in section 4 (2) (b) is not necessarily a voluntary entry and whether the offender be apprehended in the state or be in custody in the state, his entry is complete for the purpose and intent of section 4 (2)(b) and he is triable in the state under the penal code.
The obiter diction of justicescoxer J.S thereafter follow:
We are satisfied that to construe the word “enter” in section 4 (2) (b) of the penal code as meaning voluntary entry world be completely ridiculous since in that circumstance no criminal will ever enter a state when he know that such entry could make him liable by the laws of the state...

Jurisdiction Issue v
Where an accused person invoke a defence against the charge and argued that he did not intent that his act or omission should have effect in the region or state. Section 4 (3) of the penal code provides that;
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2, it shall be a defence to the charge to prove that the person accused did not intent that the act or omission should have effect in the state.
In spite of the above provision, the defence that an accused person did not intent the effect of his act or omission to be a crime within the state is a matter subject to strict proof at his trial. The law has subsequently made it clear that this lack of intention of effect is however not available if what is the effect of his act or omission is the death of the victim. In this connection, it is immaterial for the offender to say that he did not intend that the victim should have died in Northern region (now state).

Conclusion
To this end and from the full version of this analysis it should be noted that if the defendant can be tried in one Region (State) or in another for an offence, there is no breach of comity in whichever he is tried and a trial by a competent court in one state would be a bar to a second trial in another Region (State). Although, it is suggested that where the punishment of certain offences under the codes are the same, state could be granted concurrent jurisdiction so that the need to transfer cases and thereby risk the escape of the accused person would be minimized.

Conclusively, it can be observed that the case of Patrick Njovens has finally put to rest issues on jurisdiction as well as issues regarding voluntary or involuntary entry of the accused person into jurisdiction. Notwithstanding even where further doubt is to be entertained, the provision of the police Act (sections 23 to 30 of the Act, cap 359, LFN, 1990, now cap. P19, LFN, 2004) will erase such doubt. By the power conferred on the police officer by the act, an offender can no longer hide or escape criminal liability in Nigeria for the reason of his absence from any part of the country or his voluntary or in voluntary entry into any other part of the country.

Author: Cmr. Babayidi Maikasuwa, Undergraduate student of the Faculty of Law, Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

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