Double Jeopardy and the Power of Review in Court-Martial Proceedingsunder the Nigerian Military Justice System

Abstract

The aim of this paper is the examination of the power of the
Reviewing Authority of Court-Martial proceedings as
provided for under the Armed Forces Act, 2004 and whether
it amounts to double jeopardy. It is the finding of this paper
that reviewing of Courts-Martial proceedings prevails in spite
of the provision in in the Armed Forces Act (AFA) that where
a person subject to the service law has been charged with an
offence under service law and has had the charges dismissed,
or has been found guilty on the charge, he shall not be liable in
respect of that offence to be tried by a court martial. This
paper concludes that the military law in Nigeria provides its
own distinctive procedure to which the members of the armed
forces must submit and some recommendations are made.