A Critique Of African Customary Law In Nigeria As It Relates To Civil Wrongs And Crimes

The source of law in most African countries is Customary law, the Common law and legislation both colonial and post-independent.  In a typical African country, the great majority of the people conduct their personal activities in accordance with and subject to Customary law.

Customary law has great impact in the area of addressing matters such as civil wrongs, crimes and traditional matter since this law developed in an era dominated by patriarchy where some of its norms conflict with human right norms. Hence, questioning its efficacy in guaranteeing equality between men and women who are facing prosecution.  While recognizing  the  role of legislation  in reform,  it is argued that the  courts have an  important role to play  in  ensuring that customary  law  is  reformed and developed  to  ensure  that it conforms  to human  right  norms  and  contributes  to  the  promotion  of  equity and justice. 

The  guiding  principle  should  be  that customary law  is  a living  law and cannot  therefore be  static.  It must be interpreted to take account of the life experiences of the people it serves. In this regards, the study will be looking at the application of African Customary law in Nigeria and the work will be grouped as follows: 

Chapter one which is the introduction of the essay, will look into the background of African customary law, the chapter will also discuss and review relevant literatures in the area of crime and civil wrongs. The chapter will as well look into the problem statement, rationale for the study and the scope of the study.

Chapter two will cover a brief history of customary judicial system, the nature and structure of customary society with focus on three major ethnic groups (Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa) in Nigeria. The received Penal Code and Criminal Act in Nigeria will also be examined with a critic of its reception.

Chapter three will take a cursory look at judicial decisions involving crimes and civil wrongs in criminal justice administration under the African customary system. This will then be followed by an evaluation of the relationship between Nigerian Criminal Justice and legal system. Thereafter we shall examine the nexus between abolition of Customary Criminal Justice and attitude to spiritualism.

Lastly, chapter four will summarize the work and recommendations and conclusion will be made.

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