RIGHT TO SILENCE

CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY PROVISIONS SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHTS OF AN ACCUSED PERSON IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL

This is provided for under section 36(11) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of the Nigeria.

The provision provides thus:

“No person who is for a criminal offence shall be compelled to give evidence at the trial”

What the above constitutional provision implies is to prevent an accused person from being forced by the prosecution to testify for it against himself.

It had therefore been stated that the combined effect of section 36(11) of the 1999 Constitution, section 160(a) of the Evidence Act, and sections 112 & 236(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, is that the accused person is not a competent witness for the prosecution – The Queen v. Omisade & Ors. (1964) 1 All NLR 67.

It is mandatory that an accused person must not be compelled to give evidence in a case involving him – Saganuwa v. Commissioner of Police (1978) 1 LRN 45; Deduwa & Ors. v. The State (1975) 2 SC 37; and Agbachom v. The State (1970) 1 All NLR.

The right of the accused not to be compelled to testify is further fortified by the fact that where the accused failed to give evidence in his trial, the prosecution is not allowed to comment on that fact in its address – section 160(b). Thus, the provision of section 36(11) does not prohibit a trail judge from drawing any unfavourable inference against an accused having regard to the evidence adduced in the case. In Sugh v. The State (1988) 2 NWLR (Pt. 77) 475, the accused person was charged with culpable homicide punishable under with death. In the course of the trial, the accused person did not make any statement as regards the cause of the deceased and the court commented on it in its judgment. On appeal, it was contended that the court’s comments on the accused person’s failure to make a statement as regards the cause of the deceased violated the accused person’s right to silence. The Court of Appeal further held that the right of silence means that no accused person can be compelled to give evidence at his trial.

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Barr, Ezekiel chigozie has many years experience in providing legal representation and advising clients across an exceptionally broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters. His main goal is to help clients resolve any contentious or non-contentious legal problem they are having rapidly and cost effectively.

Email: victorezekielc@gmail.com

Tel: +2348034997413

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