Pattern of utilization of the insanity plea in Nigeria: An empirical analysis of reported cases

Ogunwale, Adegboyega; Oluwaranti, Oluwaseun

doi:10.1016/j.fsiml.2020.100010

Cited by 2 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…There is also the need for research into the charactersitics of insanity acquittees to better understand the category of mental disorders that increase the risk for offending, particularly serious violence. As the evidence from the limited research shows, mentally disordered offenders are likely to suffer from schizophrenia and psychosis (Adjorlolo, Chan, & DeLisi, 2019; disproportionately represented in the mentally disordered offender population (Adjorlolo, Chan, & DeLisi, 2019;Ogunwale & Oluwaranti, 2020). However, this finding confirms what we already know about offenders generally based on evidence from previous research.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…One other commonality in the insanity legislation across African jurisdictions is the lack of a definition of mental illness or mental disorder (Adjorlolo, 2016;Mosotho et al, 2017;Ogunwale & Oluwaranti, 2020). That is, unlike the Mental Health Acts, the criminal laws, which contain the insanity clauses that guide decisions of the courts, do not define mental illness or "insanity".…”

Section: Elements Of Insanity Defence Legislationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because most African countries do not have forensic psychiatrists and/or forensic psychologists, mental state examinations are undertaking by "general" psychiatrists and psychologists with little or no training in forensic assessment and issues. These mental health professionals mostly conduct interviews and collect third-party information, such as collateral reports, witness statements, police reports, crime scene information and other demographic, biopsychosocial, medical and psychiatric histories (Mosotho et al, 2017;Ogunwale & Oluwaranti, 2020;Stevens, 2015). Another source of data involve the administration of traditional/forensic assessment instruments.…”

Section: Insanity Defence and Criminal Adjudication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, for reasons such as to appease the public or victims, the NGRI has been reworded in such a manner to place some responsibilities on the accused. Countries such as Ghana and Zimbabwe prefer guilty but insane verdict (also known as guilty but mentally ill; GBMI) Menezes et al, 2009) whereas others such as South Africa and Nigeria still maintain NGRI (Kaliski, 2012;Ogunwale & Oluwaranti, 2020). The GBMI arguably makes Ghana's defence of insanity a partial defence, and therefore raised an interesting topical issue not only in Ghana but also in other jurisdictions rendering a similar verdict.…”

Section: Insanity Defence and Criminal Adjudication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of particular interest is the pattern of utilization of the insanity plea on the continent. Though this topical issue has not been explored, a recent study found that the insanity plea has been successful in a modest number of cases in Nigeria (Ogunwale & Oluwaranti, 2020). The authors examined the judgments from appeal cases since 1948 and found that, out of 34 cases adopting the insanity plea, the rate of plea success was 26.5% (n = 9).…”

Section: Insanity Defence and Criminal Adjudication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI): Adjudication, clinical outcomes and rehabilitation

Boakye¹,

Adjorlolo²

2021

The Handbook of Forensic Mental Health in Africa

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In this chapter, we examine how the criminal justice system in Africa processes mentally disordered offenders. The insanity defence plea and its associated disposition has not received much scholarly attention in Africa. Although there are legal provisions in several countries in Africa in relation to mentally disordered offenders, these provisions are largely inherited from colonial rule. There has been little effort to interrogate these legal provisions and safeguards for offenders with mental disorder and the varied ways these insanity clauses operate in Africa. This chapter provides an overview of the insanity defence law and its origins, and how the insanity defence law has been applied in selected African countries. We examined the criminal adjudication process involving the insanity defence plea and the varied disposal options available to the courts in different juridictions on the continent. The chapter also reviewed the clinical characteristics of insanity acquittees and effectiveness of rehabilitation regimes across jurisdictions in Africa. We then evaluate clinical outcomes of defendants invoking the insanity defence and rehabilitation of insanity acquittees. The chapter concludes by offering some recommendations for future research into the insanity defence in Africa.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Elements Of Insanity Defence Legislationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Insanity Defence and Criminal Adjudication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Insanity Defence and Criminal Adjudication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Insanity Defence and Criminal Adjudication Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI): Adjudication, clinical outcomes and rehabilitation

Boakye¹,

Adjorlolo²

2021

The Handbook of Forensic Mental Health in Africa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Plausible subjective experience versus fallible corroborative evidence: The formulation of insanity in Nigerian criminal courts

2023

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Insanity as a defence against criminal conduct has been known since antiquity. Going through significant reformulations across centuries, different jurisdictions across the globe, including Nigeria, have come to adopt various strains of the insanity defence, with the presence of mental disorder being the causative mechanism of the crime as their central theme. A critical ingredient in the Nigerian insanity plea is the presence of ‘mental disease’ or ‘natural mental infirmity’ as the basis for the lack of capacity in certain cognitive and behavioural domains resulting in the offence. Mental disorders, which are the biomedical formulations of this critical legal constituent are primarily subjective experiences with variable objective features. Using illustrative cases based on psycho-legal formulation as well as reform-oriented and fundamental legal research, it is shown that Nigerian courts have held that claims of insanity based on the accused person’s evidence alone should be regarded as “suspect” and not to be “taken seriously.” Thus, Nigerian judicial opinions rely on non-expert accounts of defendants’ apparent behavioural abnormalities and reported familial vulnerability to mental illness, amongst other facts while conventionally discountenancing the defendants’ plausible phenomenological experiences validated by expert psychiatric opinion in reaching a conclusion of legal insanity. While legal positivism would be supportive of the prevailing judicial attitude in entrenching the validity of the disposition in its tenuous precedential utility, legal realism invites the proponents of justice and fairness to interrogate the merit of such preferential views which are not supported by scientific evidence or philosophical reasoning. This paper argues that disregarding the subjective experience of the defendant, particularly in the presence of sustainable expert opinion when it stands unrebutted is not in the interest of justice. This judicial posturing towards mentally abnormal offenders should be reformed on the basis of current multidisciplinary knowledge. Learning from the South African legislation, formalising the involvement of mental health professionals in insanity plea cases, ensures that courts are guided by professional opinion and offers a model for reform.

show abstract

Pattern of utilization of the insanity plea in Nigeria: An empirical analysis of reported cases

Cited by 2 publications

References 15 publications

Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI): Adjudication, clinical outcomes and rehabilitation

Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI): Adjudication, clinical outcomes and rehabilitation

Plausible subjective experience versus fallible corroborative evidence: The formulation of insanity in Nigerian criminal courts

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