The Theory of Criminal Sanction: An Approach in Nigerian Law

Criminal or repressive law, as we know it today, is the fruit of an evolution marked by three major periods. The model considered for these periods is French criminal law, from which our French-speaking African legislation draws its inspiration. However, importing this law into Africa through colonization was no easy task. Indeed, Africa had its own practical values and traditions long before the arrival of the colonial power. In pre-colonial Africa, punishment had a different purpose from that of Western repressive law. Thus, "the repression of misdemeanors and crimes is intended to allow revenge and reparation for attacks on the social and sacred order, whereas in the West its purpose is to punish, monitor and reform the offender through confinement (...)". The customs referred to as indigenous by the colonizer were not exactly the same as those imposed on the African colonies from the West. The differences were obvious, and it was imperative to determine the rules that would henceforth apply.