Beijing Law Review, 2023, 14, 300-323
https://www.scirp.org/journal/blr
ISSN Online: 2159-4635
ISSN Print: 2159-4627
DOI: 10.4236/blr.2023.141017 Mar. 24, 2023 300 Beijing Law Review
The Effective Prosecution of the Crime
of Terrorism and Terrorism Related
Offences in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects
Nasiru Tijani
Nigerian Law School, Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract
The courts play a crucial role in the fight against terrorism and terrorism fi-
nancing. Terrorists when arrested are usually brought before a court of law to
determine their guilt or innocence, pursuant to section 36 (5), Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). The section provides that
every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed inno-
cent until he is proved guilty. The Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition)
Act, 2022, created terrorism offences, but is, silent on the mode of prosecu-
tion. Against this backdrop is the constitutional safeguard in prosecuting
suspects within the confines of the rule of law. The paper seeks to unravel the
challenges to effective prosecution of terrorism cases and legal provisions to
aid accelerated prosecution of such cases. Why are there low rate of prosecu-
tion in Nigeria? The author therefore argues that it is a huge task in the light
of prosecutorial duties and challenges in the prosecution of various aspects of
terrorism, terrorism financing and related offences such as money laundering
in a complex society such as Nigeria. The possibility of trial of terrorist in the
International Criminal Court is examined because of the extra territorial na-
ture of terrorism offences. The paper maintains that there are guiding regula-
tions that should assist the prosecutor in the effective prosecution of terror-
ism offences.
Keywords
Terrorism, Terrorism Financing, Money Laundering, Prosecution,
Prosecutors
1. Introduction
Modern day concept of terrorism was unknown to Nigeria. However, there were
How to cite this paper: Tijani, N. (2023).
The Effective Prosecution of the Crime of
Terrorism and Terrorism Related Offences
in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects. Bei-
jing Law Review, 14, 300-323.
https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2023.141017
Received: November 13, 2022
Accepted: March 21, 2023
Published: March 24, 2023
Copyright © 2023 by author(s) and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access