Extradition Process in Nigeria

Introduction

Extradition is a process whereby a suspect or one already convicted of a crime is formally transferred to the State where he or she is wanted to face trial for the crime(s) committed or to serve a sentence after being convicted by the relevant court of law. Extradition could also be described, as a surrender of any person who is sought by the requesting state for criminal prosecution and for extraditable offence(s) or for the imposition of a sentence in respect of such oence or oences. The laws guiding the process of extradition are not common, however, one basic principle that is associated with it is that it may involve bilateral and in some cases multilateral treaties or agreements. Though customary international law do exist, it does not carry with it an obligation that extradition from one place to another is compulsory among states. Extradition process, as an aspect of law is based on the principles that criminal acts must be accompanied with the desired consequences, that crimes should not go unpunished and that states should assist one another towards bringing criminals to justice, irrespective of where are domiciled and how hard they try to evade justice. In Nigeria, Extradition process is a component of constitutional and statutory provisions, inherited colonial treaties, trans-border cooperation, mutual international relations, and domesticated treaties. With the express provisions of the constitution, the implication is that other tier of government are barred from legislating on it Crimes and its associated activities has transcend states and trans- border boundaries , making it dicult in some cases to clearly and specifically categrize them on a specific aspect of law . The principle of respect for the sovereignty of nations, at a stage in nation’s history appeared to serve as impediment to bringing fugitives to justice. The sovereignty of states entails that the power of a state resides in the authority of that state and that the domestic affairs of that state should not be interfered with. It is also based on the presumption, that a state and its people have a right to exist without foreign aggression or unnecessary intervention by any other state. To promote the capacity to extradite fugitives, nations now makes it a norm to enter into treaties with other nations for multifarious purposes and more particularly to foster the extradition of fugitives.