Prominent legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Charles Mekwunye, has made a bold call for the Nigerian judiciary to scrap the long-standing legal procedure known as trial-within-trial, insisting it has outlived its relevance and now stands as a hindrance to justice delivery in the country’s criminal justice system.
Speaking during the public unveiling of a legal compendium titled “Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, CJN, GCON Through the Cases”, co-authored with Ayo Olanrewaju, Dr. Mekwunye criticised the continued use of trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of confessional statements in court proceedings. He noted that the procedure, once seen as a safeguard against coerced confessions, has now become a mechanism for delays and injustice, particularly for poor and unrepresented defendants.
According to him, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) of 2015 has already set a new standard for the admissibility of confessions, particularly through Sections 15 and 17, which mandate that such statements must either be recorded electronically or made in the presence of a legal practitioner to be deemed valid. He stressed that any confession obtained outside these provisions should be rejected outright by trial courts.
“The law of confession in Nigeria has fundamentally changed. If a confession is not electronically recorded or made in the presence of a lawyer, it is inadmissible. The continued reliance on trial-within-trial is not only outdated but unjust,” he declared.
Dr. Mekwunye referenced the Supreme Court’s decision in Charles v. People of Lagos State (2023), which he said affirmed the binding nature of the new standard. He further cited the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal in Zhiya v. People of Lagos State (2016), lamenting that many High Courts still cling to outdated practices despite clear appellate directives. According to him, lower courts that continue to conduct trial-within-trial are disregarding the hierarchy of judicial authority and slowing down the wheels of justice.
He argued that the practice now serves no functional purpose other than to waste judicial time and frustrate the speedy resolution of cases, particularly affecting vulnerable individuals who lack legal representation. He called on heads of court across the country to issue firm directives to judges under their jurisdiction, urging them to reject inadmissible confessions and uphold the spirit and letter of the ACJA.
“We cannot continue to throw helpless Nigerians into prison based on confessions extracted under duress or torture. This practice must stop. It violates not just the law, but also the conscience of the nation,” he said.
In a passionate plea, Mekwunye urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene by issuing an Executive Order directing the immediate release or arraignment of detainees who have been held in correctional facilities for years without trial. According to him, many of these individuals are not criminals but victims of systemic neglect, whose only crime is being poor or lacking access to legal help.
“No one with money or social standing stays in detention for five years without seeing the inside of a courtroom. It is the poor and voiceless who bear the brunt of this broken system,” he lamented.
While commending Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, for his integrity and humility on the bench, Dr. Mekwunye said the newly launched book is not just a celebration of the CJN’s legacy, but also an invitation to critical engagement. He emphasised that while the judiciary deserves to be honoured, it must also be held accountable — not through sensational headlines, but through rigorous legal scholarship and appeals within the corridors of justice.
“We will honour your contributions, My Lord, but we will also critique your judgments — not in the newspapers, but in our law faculties and through appellate arguments. That is how a mature legal system grows,” he concluded.
His remarks have since stirred conversation within the legal community, particularly among those advocating for reforms that prioritise fairness, speed, and adherence to modern statutory frameworks in criminal trials.
