By Ehiwe O. Sam. Nigeria as a Federal state has an avalanche of Acts, Laws, and Bye laws. Ever heard of the Bight of Bonny Act of 1975, or the Flags and Coat of Arms Act of 1960 or the Corneal Grafting of 5th May 1973 or the Boy’s Scout Act of 1922? All of these are laws applicable to Nigeria. These laws are so many that some of them sometimes sound strange. Murder is a capital offence in Nigeria which carries with it a capital punishment. This kind of punishment in my view is not just aimed at punishing the offenders but also to completely nip in the bud the subsequent commission of such an offence by other persons. This is why perhaps our criminal jurisprudence not only punishes the offender but also the accessories after the fact. See section 7 of the Criminal Code. It is important to note however that it is not all killings that qualify as murder. In fact, there are some killings that carry no punishment. Such killings is what we refer to as ‘legal deprivation of lives’.
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