UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LAW JOURNAL

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA

2026-09-02T19:35:27+00:00

This paper examines money laundering in Nigeria in general, conceptualising it and identifying the gaps in the legal framework designed to tackle this menace. Special focus is given to using the digital platforms to carry out money laundering in Nigeria and the challenges created through these platforms in combating or preventing it. The emergence of digital innovation and technology has a big impact on money laundering in Nigeria. Because digital currencies are virtual and therefore outside the authority of any one state, they are especially useful for the layering step of money laundering. This makes it possible to convert between various cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, send money internationally without difficulty, and make trading and investing activities easier. Financial criminals can move money across borders until the link to the initial crime is effectively broken by using cryptocurrencies to effectively hide the origin of their unlawful funds. The regulatory developments in the wake of cyber laundering in Nigeria is considered. In the end suggestions for reforms are made, which include enhanced legal and regulatory frameworks, strengthening international cooperation, investment in technological solutions, and encouragement of responsible innovations, among others.

Evaluating The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2020 (NBSAP) As a Programmatic Approach To Biodiversity Conservation in Nigeria

2026-08-31T16:21:29+00:00

Ecosystems globally face unprecedented anthropogenic pressures, with biodiversity loss emerging as a defining environmental crisis of our era. In Nigeria, a nation of immense ecological richness yet profound socio-economic complexities, conservation efforts are frequently hampered by a centralized legal framework that struggles to effectively integrate the country's vast regional and ecological diversity, leading to significant implementation gaps. This study evaluates Nigeria's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for 2016-2020 against established programmatic standards, specifically those emphasizing adaptive management and robust monitoring frameworks, such as the Conservation Measures Partnership's Open Standards. Employing a doctrinal and comparative legal research methodology, the paper contrasts the NBSAP with Botswana's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BNBSAP) 2016-2025, a nation demonstrating a more integrated approach to localized strategies and monitoring. Findings reveal a critical paradox: while the NBSAP articulates key programmatic components and aligns with theoretical conservation principles, its operational design and practical implementation are severely undermined by a pervasive lack of systematic, data-driven adaptive management. This deficiency is empirically underscored by Nigeria's 2024 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranking of 140th overall and particularly its abysmal score of 0.0 in Bioclimatic Ecosystem Resilience. The study concludes that achieving Nigeria's biodiversity conservation goals necessitates a fundamental shift towards a more robust, evidence-informed, and operationally integrated programmatic framework that transcends mere policy articulation to embrace genuine adaptive governance.

Public Retributive Violence in Nigeria: Legal Analysis and the Duty of Familial Repair

2026-09-02T19:05:24+00:00

Public retributive violence is a pressing socio-legal issue in Nigeria, having claimed the lives of numerous citizens and depriving them of the dignity and honour inherently due to every human person. It is recognized as one of the most degrading and horrific ways to die. While a few victims may narrowly escape death due to timely intervention by law enforcement agents, the vast majority of documented cases reveal that they are brutally murdered through excessive beating, torture, and ultimately being set ablaze in a practice commonly referred to as necklacing; a form of summary execution. These punishments are often meted out on individuals alleged to have committed offences such as petty theft, armed robbery, blasphemy, witchcraft, and other morally or socially reprehensible acts. However, in many instances, the victims are later found to be innocent of the accusations levelled against them. This article therefore discusses the concept of retributive violence as a form of extrajudicial punishment, while considering the legal frameworks prohibiting it, the police and prosecutorial failures, the difficulty in the identification of the perpetrators, and the inclusiveness of victims’ relatives in restorative-justice and repair policy.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT, 2015: WHITHER CLEMENCY? SILENCE OR OMISSION?

2026-09-02T19:22:47+00:00

This article examines whether the silence of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 on executive clemency constitutes a constitutional necessity or a normative gap in Nigeria’s criminal justice reform. While the Act modernises criminal procedure up to sentencing and introduces non-custodial and parole mechanisms, it provides no procedural interface with the prerogative of mercy under sections 175 and 212 of the Constitution. Using doctrinal analysis and limited comparative evaluation, the article argues that although substantive mercy discretion is constitutionally vested in the executive, procedural regulation of mercy processes is constitutionally permissible. The absence of such procedural structuring weakens transparency and coherence in post-conviction justice. The article proposes limited statutory reforms aimed at harmonising clemency with constitutional principles and restorative justice objectives.