Nigerian Criminal Justice System and Victims of Crime Neglect in Enugu Urban

Abstract

As essential area of criminology, crime victims have really never been accorded due recognition in Nigeria. It is in this regard that this paper discusses the Nigerian criminal justice system and the issue of victim neglect in Enugu urban. Using qualitative and quantitative research approaches, a sample of 604 respondents were drawn from Enugu urban. Multi-stage and purposive sampling techniques were used to reach the respondents. Data from both questionnaires and in-depth interviews were collected. We found that most crime victims are highly neglected and there is a lack of cordial relationship between the police and crime victims in Enugu urban. The study recommends the need to consider civil aspect of cases when passing judgments so that crime victims would not lose on two folds, but get partially compensated for their losses. The study also calls for judges to speed up adjudication processes in order not to draw cases to elastic limit where crime victims lose faith in the criminal justice system.