Comparative Analysis and Insights into The Criminal Justice Systems of Nigeria and Ghana
Keywords:
Criminal Justice Administration, Ghana, Justice Reform, Nigeria, Regional CooperationAbstract
Nigeria and Ghana share an English common-law heritage, yet differences in political structure and institutional capacity have produced distinct criminal justice outcomes. This article compares their legal frameworks, institutions, reform efforts, operational challenges, and cross-border cooperation mechanisms while identifying practices that could strengthen justice administration. It adopts comparative and doctrinal approach, examining relevant constitutions, statutes, judicial decisions, policy reports, institutional publications, and scholarly literature. It reveals Nigeria introduced significant reforms through the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the Police Act 2020, and the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019. However, federal fragmentation, uneven implementation, prolonged pre-trial detention, inadequate funding, corruption, police misconduct, limited legal aid, and slow technological adoption constrain their effectiveness. Ghana’s unitary structure supports more consistent implementation, stronger legal-aid arrangements, non-custodial sentencing, alternative dispute resolution, and e-justice initiatives. Nevertheless, Ghana continues to face judicial misconduct, unequal access to justice, resource constraints, and limited acceptance of restorative justice. Both countries also encounter difficulties in extradition, information sharing, and regional responses to transnational crime. Effective reform requires consistent implementation, adequate resources, stronger institutional independence and oversight, expanded legal aid, wider use of restorative and non-custodial measures, judicial digitalization, and deeper regional cooperation.
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