Criminal Litigation Vocabulary

These flashcards cover key legal terminology, procedures, and statutory rules related to criminal litigation in Nigeria based on the 2026 lecture notes.

Offence

Any act or omission forbidden by law for which the law prescribes sanctions or punishment, such as those defined in $Section\,28\,PC$ or $Section\,494\,ACJA$.

Arraignment

The formal commencement of a trial where the charge or information is read and explained to the defendant in a language they understand, and their plea is taken and recorded.

Dies non juridicus

Non-juridical days, specifically Sundays and Public Holidays, during which court proceedings are generally null and void unless requested otherwise by the parties.

Bench

The elevated podium at the front of the courtroom where the presiding judge or magistrate sits to dispense justice.

Bar

The part of the courtroom between the Registrar’s desk and the gallery where lawyers sit; in superior courts, lawyers must be robed to sit here.

Dock

The enclosed part of the courtroom exclusively reserved for the accused person during their trial; testimony given from here is generally not subject to cross-examination.

Witness Box

The part of the courtroom where a witness is placed to testify, typically located between the bar and the bench so they are visible to both the lawyer and the judge.

Search Warrant

A written authority issued by a Judge, Magistrate, or Justice of the Peace (under $ACJA$) upon information on oath, empowering an officer to search premises for specific items.

Inventory

A recorded list of all items or properties recovered from a suspect during a search, which must be signed by the police officer and the arrested person.

Warrant of Arrest

An authority in writing issued by a court to a police officer or other person, directing them to arrest a named offender and bring them before a station or court.

Public Summons

A written requirement published in a newspaper or affixed to a premises requiring an absconded person to appear at a specified place not less than $30\,days$ from publication.

Summons

An order in writing commanding a person named therein to appear before the court on a specific date and time to answer criminal allegations, usually for simple offences.

Substituted Service

A method of serving a summons by leaving it with an adult male family member or affixing it to a conspicuous part of the defendant's ordinary residence.

First Information Report (FIR)

A written statement alleging the commission of an offence, used in the North and Abuja to bring a suspect before a Magistrate to show cause why they should not be tried.

Trial-within-trial

A collateral proceeding held to determine the voluntariness of a confessional statement when its admissibility is challenged on the grounds of oppression or torture.

Alibi

A defense meaning "elsewhere," asserting the physical impossibility of committing a crime because the defendant was at a different location at the material time.

Identification Parade

A procedure where a suspect is placed among a minimum of $8$ persons of similar description to see if a witness who did not previously know them can identify them.

Recognition

A scenario where a witness already knew the suspect before the crime, making an identification parade unnecessary if they link the person to the crime timeously.

Police Bail

The temporary release of a suspect on bond or self-recognizance pending the conclusion of an investigation or their formal arraignment in court.

Habeas Corpus

A prerogative writ issued to command an authority to bring a detainee before the court to restored abridged fundamental rights to personal liberty.

General Criminal Jurisdiction

Courts that have jurisdiction over different classes of offenders and different types of offences, subdivided into Original and Appellate jurisdictions.

Special Criminal Jurisdiction

Courts set up to try particular types of offences or classes of offenders, such as the Juvenile Court, Court Martial, or International Criminal Court.

Holding Charge

An unconstitutional practice where police bring a suspect before a court that lacks jurisdiction to try the offence simply to obtain a remand order.

Remand

The legal procedure of detaining an accused person in custody beyond $48\,hours$ through a formal application before a Magistrate pending DPP advice or proper trial.

Attorney-General

The chief law officer of the Federation or State, possessing absolute discretion to institute, take over, or discontinue criminal proceedings, excluding court-martials.

Nolle Prosequi

The power of the Attorney-General to discontinue criminal proceedings at any stage before judgment, which results in a discharge rather than an acquittal.

Fiat

An instrument of authority given by the Attorney-General to a private legal practitioner to prosecute a specific case on behalf of the state.

Information

A document used to initiate criminal proceedings in the High Court, comprising the charge, proof of evidence, and unedited statements of the defendant.

Rule against Duplicity

A drafting rule stating that every head of charge or count must contain only one offence to avoid embarrassing the defendant in their defense.

Rule against Ambiguity

A drafting rule ensuring a charge is clear enough to give the defendant notice of the offence, details of the time, place, and the law contravened.

General Deficiency of Money

An exception to the rule against duplicity where various sums of money stolen over a period from the same person are summed into a single count.

Rule against Misjoinder of Offenders

A rule stating that defendants should generally be tried separately unless they jointly committed the same offence or committed different offences in the same transaction.

Case Theory

The logical and coherent historical account of a case, build around overarching facts, which a counsel adopts as their line of argument for trial.

Trial Plan

A graphic or tabular roadmap used to actualize a case theory, detailing elements of the offence, expected witnesses, and anticipated opponent strategies.

Standard of Proof

The quantum of evidence required to prove a case, which in criminal matters is "beyond reasonable doubt" for the prosecution’s case against the defendant.

Hostile Witness

A witness who, in the opinion of the court, bears a hostile animus against the party calling them and is unwilling to tell the truth.

Subpoena ad testificandum

A court order commanding the person named therein to appear before the court specifically to give oral testimony.

Ex-improviso Rule

A rule allowing the prosecution to call a witness after the defense has closed its case to rebut new matters that could not reasonably have been foreseen.

Locus in quo

The inspection of moveable or immoveable real evidence by the court outside of the courtroom to assist in the just determination of the case.

No Case Submission

An application made at the close of the prosecution's case asserting that no prima facie case has been established and thus the defendant should not enter a defense.

Allocutus

An unsworn statement by a convict before sentencing where they plead for mercy, explain their conduct, or apologize to seek a lighter punishment.

Probation

A non-custodial post-conviction order where a convict is released from confinement under court supervision for a period not exceeding $3\,years$.

Parole

The conditional release of a prisoner before the expiry of their sentence based on good behavior, provided they have served at least one-third of a long-term sentence.

Omnibus Ground of Appeal

A general ground of appeal stating that the decision of the lower court is unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence.

Abatement of Appeal

The termination of a criminal appeal caused by the death of the appellant, except in cases where the appeal is against a sentence of fine.

Haddi Lashing

A form of symbolic punishment available in the North for Muslims convicted of specific offences like defamation or drinking alcohol, aimed at public disgrace.