PLEA BARGAIN: A CURE

WORSE THAN THE DISEASE OR

AS RIGHT AS RAIN?

PRESENTED BY GIWA DAVID

 WHAT IS A PLEA BARGAIN?
• Linus Y. Akor, defines it as a process through which a defendant pleads guilty to
a criminal charge with the expectation of receiving some consideration from the
State by way of a lighter sentence.
• Chris W. Wigwe, opines that plea bargain is a deal offered by a prosecutor as an
incentive for an accused to plead guilty.
• The Black’s Law Dictionary defines it as “the process whereby the accused and
the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of
the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the accused pleading guilty
to a lesser offence or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count
indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that position for the grave
charge.
 WHAT IS A PLEA BARGAIN?

According to Bob Osamor;

A plea bargain is a negotiation, between the defendant and his lawyer on one side
and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to:
 reveal the identity of other offenders; or/and
 whereabouts of evidence relevant to a case; or/and
 plead guilty to some offences;
In return for:
 reduction of the severity of the charges;
 dismissal of some of the charges;
 the prosecutor’s willingness to recommend a particular sentence;
 or some other benefit to the defendant.
 OUR CONTROVERSY
WHAT IS/ARE THE DISEASE(S) FOR WHICH WE NEED THIS CURE?
Without plea bargain, there might be;
 Heavy caseload for prosecutors.
 No conviction for deserving offenders due to lack of compelling evidence
 Cunning defendants may escape based on technicalities
 Disclosure by offenders of accomplices may be obscured.
 WHAT IS OUR CURE?
Plea bargain is believed to help in the following areas:
• For prosecutors, a lightened caseload is equally attractive
• Plea bargaining assures a conviction, even if it is for a lesser charge or crime
• Prosecutors benefit from plea bargains because the deals allow them to
improve their conviction rates
• prosecutors also use plea bargains as a way to encourage defendants to
testify against codefendants or other accused criminals
• Plea bargains allow prosecutors to avoid trials, which are shunned because
they are time-consuming, labour-intensive, and costly but carry no guarantee
of success
• Through the rational use of plea bargaining, prosecutors can ensure some
penalty for offenders who might be acquitted on technicalities
 HOWEVER?
• Dieprieye Alamiesieigha, former Governor of Bayelsa State, was convicted of
stealing public assets worth over US$100 million and got away with
imprisonment for two years and an order of asset forfeiture for only those assets
that were traced.
• Lucky Igbinedion, former Governor of Edo State, was given a fine of less than
US$20,000 upon conviction for theft of public assets and breach of public trust.
• Tafa Balogun, former Inspector-General of Police, a lawyer, stole assets worth
over US$130 million and was sentenced on conviction to imprisonment for a
mere six months.
• Mrs Cecilia Ibru, Chief Executive Officer of Oceanic Bank, was convicted of
stealing assets worth over $2billion and was sentenced to six months
imprisonment, a term that was mostly served in one of the best hospitals in the
country.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?
 SCHOLARLY OPINIONS
 Adeleke and Olayanju noted that plea bargaining is a means by which the rich
who stole the lifeblood of the poor are made to return only part of it and are then
let off the hook
 F. Andrew Hessick and Reshma M. Saujani opine that plea bargaining subjects
defendants to unjustifiable pressure to forego their constitutional right to a jury
trial
 Mordi argued that the practice violates the fundamental human rights of the
accused by the inducement of confession of guilt and a trial waiver for the
promise of a reduced sentence
 Okwori argues that plea bargain violates some rights under the American and
the Nigerian constitutions such as the right to be presumed innocent until the
contrary is proved, the right to fair hearing in public, the privilege against self-
incrimination and the right to examination of witnesses
 CONCLUSION
Plea bargain does have its merits and demerits. There is no straight
jacket answer to say that plea bargain is worse or right. The justice of
each case is determined by that which serves justice to all. Therefore,
while we desire to see justice done, we must go beyond this to consider,
the justice of the particular case, for the prosecutor, the defendant and
the public at large.

Thank you