Juvenile Delinquency (Sylvester Oromoni’s Incident As A Case Study)

By Deborah Iniye Warrie Esq.

The death of a 12-year-old schoolboy, in Lagos Nigeria’s commercial capital city, is generating reactions in Africa’s most populous nation. Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, a Junior Secondary School JSS 2 student of Dowen College, Lagos southwest Nigeria died under controversial circumstances.

The school authorities claim Sylvester sustained injuries while playing football, but his family says he was instead tortured by school bullies. “He told us that he was not playing football, he did not go to the field. He said he was in his room with his classmates sleeping on his bed in the evening,” said Sylvester Oromoni, the father of the deceased schoolboy. The 12-year-old student succumbed to wounds allegedly suffered from a violent beat-up by school bullies on Wednesday, November 28 triggering massive outcry and condemnation in the country. Activists, civil rights campaigners, celebrities and government authorities have expressed shock and anger at the way Sylvester died. Following the incident, the Lagos State government sealed off the school pending the outcome of an investigation into the case.

The above pathetic, and sad story leads us to this burning question. What is Juvenile delinquency?

Juvenile delinquency, also known as “juvenile offending”, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. Like the case of the alleged perpetrators of Sylvester Oromoni’s death. See DORIPOLO v. STATE(2012) LPELR-15415(CA)

“The term juvenile (adjective juvenility), denotes a person who has not reached the age at which he (she) should be treated as an adult by the criminal justice system. In essence, he could be regarded as a juvenile delinquent or offender, youthful offender as the case may be. See BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 6th Edition, 2004 at 884, defining a juvenile delinquent as a- “Minor who is guilty of criminal behavior, usually punishable by special laws not pertaining to adults.” Equally, Section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Law (supra) defines a juvenile offender as – “An offender who has not attained the age of seventeen years.” Per IBRAHIM MOHAMMED MUSA SAULAWA, JCA (Pp 35 – 35 Paras B – E)

In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person who is typically below 18 (17 in the states of Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin) years of age and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult. Juvenile crimes can range from status offenses (such as underage smoking/drinking), to property crimes and violent crimes.

CAN A MINOR BE CHARGED FOR A CRIMINAL OFFENSE ? YES

Juvenile detention centers, courts and electronic monitoring are common structures of the juvenile legal system. Juvenile courts are in place to address offenses for minors as civil rather than criminal cases in most instances.The frequency of use and structure of these courts varies per Country and its statuses. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for people under 18 to be charged and treated as adults. Thus in Sylvester’s case his alleged assailants, IF after police investigation are found liable of a criminal offense,can be charged to Juvenile Court. 

SUMMARY OF SOME PROVISIONS FOR CHILD OFFENDERS, UNDER THE NIGERIAN CHILD RIGHTS ACT 2003. 

Sections on Child Justice Administration under the Nigerian Child Rights Act 2003.

• Section 204 Provides that a Child offender should be subjected to only the child justice system and processes.

No child shall be subjected to the criminal justice process or to criminal sanctions, but a child alleged to have committed an act which would constitute a criminal offence if he were an adult shall be subjected only to the child justice system and processes set out in this Act.

• Section 205 provides for the privacy of the Child Offender.

(1) The right of the child to privacy specified in section 8 of this Act shall be respected at all stages of child justice administration in order to avoid harm being caused to the child by undue publicity or by the process of labeling.  

(2) Accordingly, no information that may lead to the identification of a child offender shall be published.   

(3) Records of a child offender shall‐ 

(a) be kept strictly confidential and closed to third parties;   

(b)made accessible only to persons directly concerned with the disposition of the case at hand or other duly authorised persons; and   

(c)not be used in adult proceedings subsequent cases involving the same child offender.

• Section 206 provides for Professional education and training of persons dealing with child offenders

 (1) Professional education, in‐service training, refresher courses and other appropriate mode of instructions shall be utilised to establish and maintain the necessary professional competence of all persons, including Judges, Magistrates, officers of the Specialised Children Police Unit, supervisors and child development officers, dealing with child offenders.

• Section 207 provides for an area of Specialization within the Nigeria Police Force on cases pertaining to Child Offenders

(1) There shall be established, in the Nigeria Police Force, a specialised unit of the Force, to be known as the Specialised Children Police Unit (in this Act referred to as the “Unit”) which shall consist of police officers who‐   

(a) frequently or exclusively deal with children; or   

(b)are primarily engaged in the prevention of child offences,  

 (2) The Unit shall be charged with the following functions, that is‐   (a) the prevention and control of child offences;   

(b)the apprehension of child offenders;   

(c)the investigation of child offences; and   

(d)   such other functions as may be referred to the Unit by this Act or by regulations made under this Act or by any other enactment.   

• Section 210 provided for the legal status and rights of the child offender

(a)the presumption of innocence;   

(b)the right to be notified of the charges;    

(c)the right to remain silent;   

(d)the right to the presence of a parent or guardian;   

(e)the right to legal representation and free legal aid. 

• Section 212 provides for Detention of a child offender pending trial

(1) Detention pending trial shall‐

(a) be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time;  

(b) wherever possible, be replaced by alternative measures, including close supervision, care by and placement with a family or in an educational setting or home.

(2) While in detention, a child shall be given care, protection any necessary assistance including social, educational, vocational, psychological, medical and physical assistance, that he may require having regard to his age, sex and personality.   

(3) Where the Court authorises an apprehended child to be kept in police detention the Court shall unless it certifies‐   (a)   that, by reason of such circumstances as specified in the certificate, it Is impracticable for him to do so; or   (b)   in the case of an apprehended child who has attained the age of fifteen years, that no secure accommodation is available and that keeping him in some other authority’s accommodation would not be adequate to protect the public from serious harm from the child, secure that the apprehended child is moved to a State Government accommodation.   (4) Classification in the place of detention pending trial shall take account of the social, educational, medical and physical characteristics and condition of the child, including his age, sex and personality.

• Section 213 provides for the Jurisdiction of Court (means the Family court established under section 149 of the Act;) to try child offenders.

PUNISHMENT OF CHILD OFFENDERS IN NIGERIA UNDER THE CHILD RIGHTS ACT. 

Can a child offender, charged for the offence attempted to commit treason, murder, robbery or manslaughter, or wounded another person with intent to do grievous harm be detained? The answer is Yes.

• Section 222 of the Act provides for Detention of child offenders in case of certain crimes

Section (1) states thus Notwithstanding anything in this Act to the contrary, where a child is found to have attempted to commit treason, murder, robbery or manslaughter, or wounded another person with intent to do grievous harm, the Court may order the child to be detained for such period as may be specified in the order.  

(2) Where an order is made under subsection (1) of this section, the child shall, during that period, notwithstanding anything in the other provisions of this Act, be liable to be detained in such place and on such conditions as the Court may direct, and the child whilst so detained shall be deemed to be in legal custody.

See EFCC v. SULEIMAN & ANOR (2016) LPELR-40790(CA)

Circumstances in which a person may be deprived of his right to personal liberty

“Section 35(1) to (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended reads as follows: 

“35(1) Every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of such liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure permitted by law:

(a) In execution of the sentence or order of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty; 

(d) In the case of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years for the purpose of his education or welfare; In a juvenile-delinquency case, the Court’s authority to hold in custody, from the initial hearing until the probable-cause hearing, any juvenile charged with an act that, if committed by an adult, would be a crime.  If the Court finds that releasing the juvenile would create a serious risk that before the return date the juvenile might commit a criminal act, it may order the juvenile detained pending a probable-cause hearing. Juveniles do not have a constitutional right to bail. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of such statutes in Schall vs. Martin, 467 U.S. 253, 104 S.Ct. 2403 (1984). Also termed temporary detention. Preventive detention – Confinement imposed usually on a criminal defendant who has threatened to escape, poses a risk of harm, or has otherwise violated the law while awaiting trial, or on a mentally ill person who may cause harm. ” Per JOSEPH TINE TUR, JCA (Pp 75 – 85 Paras A – E). See also CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF & ANOR v. TIJAH (2016) LPELR-40818(CA), AYABAM v. C.O.P BENUE STATE (2019) LPELR-47283(CA)

• Section 223 provides for the methods of dealing with a child offender.

PUNISHMENT OF CHILD OFFENDERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE 

In 2020 a ruling abolished the death penalty for juveniles in Saudi Arabia. Despite this Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish was executed in June 2021. He was alleged to have taken part in anti-government demonstrations at the age of 17. al-Darwish had been detained in May 2015 being placed in solitary confinement for years. al-Darwish claimed that he faced brutal torture and beatings and was forced to sign confessions. One criminal justice approach to juvenile delinquency is through the juvenile court systems. These courts are specifically for minors to be tried in. Sometimes, juvenile offenders are sent to adult prisons. Depending on the circumstances of the case and the gravity of the crime committed.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.africanews.com/2021/12/08/sylvester-oromoni-a-case-of-bullying-harassment-in-nigerian-schools/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenile_delinquency
3. https://lawsofnigeria.placng.org/laws/C50.pdf
4. https://primsol.lawpavilion.com/search?search_term=juvenile-delinquency%20case
5. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/disclaimer/

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