Concept Of Criminal Responsibility

Under the Nigerian legal system for  one to be
criminally responsible for an act he must :-
a)Have the capacity to understand what he is doing .
b)Capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or   make omission.  (c)    Capacity to control his actions.
The Nigerian jurisprudence does not allow a person to be punished for an act or omission of such an act which is not imbedded in any written law operational in Nigeria, in line with the Latin Maxim – “Nulla  Poena Sine  Lege”, which means, there can be no punishment without a written law. Also, one cannot be responsible for an act or omission, unless he has attained a certain age. For instance, under the criminal code, a person under the age of seven is not criminally responsible for any act or omission. In the same vein, a person under twelve years of age is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, unless it is proved that at the time of doing the act or omission, he had capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission.
Section 28 of the criminal code provides that, “A person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission if at the time of doing the act or making the omission he is in a state of mental disease or natural mental infirmity as to deprive him of capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission. But it has been observed that most persons who commit crime, do so in all mental knowledge of their actions and when they are apprehended, they hide behind the veil of mental disorder or the influence of alcohol in order to escape the justice of the law. In Nkwuda V. the Queens, Wali JSC stated thus, “Be it noted that mere absence of motive for a crime however atrocious it may be, in the absence of proof of insanity, or evidence of drunkenness that produces such a degree of madness, even for a time as to render the accused incapable of distinguishing  right from wrong cannot avail the appellant of the defence provided in sections 28 and 29 of the criminal code”. For an adult to be criminally responsible for an act or omission, he must have a mental knowledge of his action.
Ignorance of the law does not afford any excuse for any act or omission which would otherwise constitute an offence, unless knowledge of the law by the offender is expressly declared to be an element of the offence. Also a person is not criminally responsible for an offence relating to property, for an act done or omitted to be done by him with respect to any property in the exercise of an honest claim of right and without intention to defraud. A person is also not criminally responsible for an act or omission, which occurs independently of the exercise of his will, or for an event which occurs by accident. Unless otherwise expressly declared, the motive by which a person is   induced to do or omit to do an act or to form an intention is immaterial as far as regards criminal responsibility.
Criminal responsibility applies not only to those who perform criminal acts but also to those who aid and abet a perpetrator by encouraging, or in any way knowingly helping in the commission of such an act e.g by providing information, implements, or practical help. Those who actually perform the criminal act, e.g wielding the weapon that strikes the fatal blow are often called principals. And various defences may be presented to negate criminal responsibility. For instances, a person who engages in a criminal conduct while under the influence of a condition or circumstance without possessing a guilty state of mind cannot be convicted of the crime. But a careful and diligent evaluation of an accused criminal responsibility is an important element of every criminal trial.

Nkechi Bright Ewere