CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACTORS AND VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA (2018- 2023)

The criminal justice actors in Nigeria are responsible for protecting and enforcing human rights. However, cases of human rights violations have often been reported by citizens and media houses against the police, the court, and the correctional institutions that were supposed to protect the rights of the citizenry. This paper examined the role of the criminal justice actors in the violations of human rights in Nigeria (2018- 2023). Using a cross sectional survey design, data were sourced from documentary evidence including journals, newspapers, government publications, and internet materials, and analysed using the content analysis method. Guided by the Social Conflict Theory of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Ralf Dahrendorf, the results showed that despite the extant laws that guarantee fundamental human rights in the country, violations of human rights are still perpetrated by erring members of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in the country. The documented cases of abuse, from the extrajudicial killings by SARS and military forces to the torture and unlawful detentions by police, underscore systemic issues within Nigeria’s criminal justice system. The paper therefore recommended adequate implementation and enforcement of existing laws on human rights. Also, the government should integrate comprehensive human rights training into the curriculum for police, judiciary members, and correctional staff. The government should establish or strengthen independent oversight bodies to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by law enforcement and other criminal justice actors. There should also be transparency in the investigation and prosecution of human rights violations as well as publication of findings and outcomes.