A professor of Criminology, Femi Odekunle has said that the use of plea bargain in the Nigeria judicial system has been inappropriately applied and that it has been used for offenses committed by those with powerful social and economic status.
While speaking on Channels Television’s Breakfast Show Sunrise Daily, Mr Odekunle said in users of plea bargain in Nigeria often emphasised ‘technicalities over and above substantive justice’.
He said the recent suspension of Justice Talba is the “first step in a million steps that we need to clean up our judiciary.”
Mr Odekunle condemned those who have been seeing such offenses and have not done anything; he praised Justice Aloma Mukhtar for getting rid of the abuse of plea bargain.
He listed the benefits of plea bargin to include: getting rid of minor cases if properly applied; reducing the work load of prosecuting and defense lawyers; enforcing of law and order.
• It can be used to free the system for attention of important cases such as murder, rape amongst others.
