Jurisprudence of Restorative Justice for Victims of Crime in Nigeria

Introduction The word “jurisprudence” is derived from the Latin term juris prudentia, which means “the study, knowledge or science of law”.2 The term “jurisprudence,” is also used alternatively as ‘legal theory and/or “philosophy of law”.3 Jurisprudence is the study and theory of law. Scholars of the concept are also known as jurists or legal theorists and they hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. Historically, modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the natural law, civil law and the laws of nations. In Nigeria, crimes are committed daily and the Nigerian laws for a long period of time centred upon prescribing punishments for the offenders. This chapter is aimed at appraising the jurisprudence of restorative justice to victims of crime under the present criminal justice system with a view to ascertaining the extent to which restorative justice can be applied to the victims. It was found that there is a dearth of restorative justice aimed at restoring the victims of crime to their status quo ante in Nigeria. The main statutes in Nigeria that prohibit criminal acts are the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act. These two statutes focus mainly on punishing the perpetrators of the crime because none of the punishments listed in the sections of these statutes could be said to have the interest of victims as their main purpose. This chapter shall recommend that these two statutes should be reviewed and amended to make provisions for the restoration of the victims of crime to the position he was before the commission of the crime by the offenders in line with the utilitarian purpose of law which is not only sought in the interest of victims of crime but also in the general interest of the community.