The Procedural & Symbolic Barriers to Justice in Nigerian Wrongful Conviction Cases
Standing
Graduate (Masters)
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Faculty Sponsor
Professor Reem Bahdi
Proposal
When criminal defendants go through the criminal justice system in Nigeria, they expect that the system would provide them with a fair criminal process that protects their rights and ensures that they will have justice in their cases. The basis for this expectation is the fundamental rights for criminal defendants in the Nigerian Constitution and other laws. However, notwithstanding these promised rights, the Nigerian criminal justice system has often failed to fulfill this expectation, resulting in wrongful convictions of innocent persons. There are no studies on the barriers to justice that wrongfully convicted persons face in Nigeria and insufficient research about wrongful convictions in the country. The issue of wrongful conviction requires further study in Nigeria because it shows the reality of human rights violations in the criminal justice system and the negative impact on the affected individuals. This research explores the barriers to justice in Nigerian wrongful conviction cases and how the obstacles can be addressed to prevent wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of a sample of wrongfully convicted individuals in southwest Nigeria. The data will be analyzed using thematic analysis to identify themes and patterns in the experiences of injustice that the wrongfully convicted persons encounter in the Nigerian criminal justice system. (Note: This is part of my larger thesis project in progress).
Availability
March 31(12 -1pm); April 1 (12- 1pm)
Special Considerations
Chinyere Obinna
The Procedural & Symbolic Barriers to Justice in Nigerian Wrongful Conviction Cases
When criminal defendants go through the criminal justice system in Nigeria, they expect that the system would provide them with a fair criminal process that protects their rights and ensures that they will have justice in their cases. The basis for this expectation is the fundamental rights for criminal defendants in the Nigerian Constitution and other laws. However, notwithstanding these promised rights, the Nigerian criminal justice system has often failed to fulfill this expectation, resulting in wrongful convictions of innocent persons. There are no studies on the barriers to justice that wrongfully convicted persons face in Nigeria and insufficient research about wrongful convictions in the country. The issue of wrongful conviction requires further study in Nigeria because it shows the reality of human rights violations in the criminal justice system and the negative impact on the affected individuals. This research explores the barriers to justice in Nigerian wrongful conviction cases and how the obstacles can be addressed to prevent wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of a sample of wrongfully convicted individuals in southwest Nigeria. The data will be analyzed using thematic analysis to identify themes and patterns in the experiences of injustice that the wrongfully convicted persons encounter in the Nigerian criminal justice system. (Note: This is part of my larger thesis project in progress).