The conversation on the future of criminal justice administration in Nigeria took a profound turn at the 2026 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gombe Branch, as renowned legal scholar and policy expert, Prof. Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan, PhD, presented a thought-provoking paper challenging the continued reliance on punitive justice models in Nigeria.
In his seminal presentation titled “The Administration of Criminal Justice Law in Nigeria and Gombe State of Nigeria: The Law of Reformation and Restorative Justice, Not Retribution or a Hybridized Model,” Prof. Ladan argues for a transformative shift in Nigeria’s criminal justice system from punishment-driven approaches to a framework anchored on reformation, rehabilitation, restoration, and societal reintegration.
Delivered during the NBA Gombe Branch Law Week held on 16–17 June 2026 at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Gombe, the paper aligns with the conference theme, “Strengthening Justice Through Reforms: Lawyers as Agents of Change.”
It offers a comprehensive examination of the philosophy underpinning the Administration of Criminal Justice laws in Nigeria and calls for a renewed commitment to restorative justice as the true spirit of modern criminal justice reform.
A distinguished academic, former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), and currently the Coordinating Director of the AfCFTA Law and Policy Programme Division at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Ladan brings decades of scholarship and policy experience to bear on one of the most critical debates in contemporary criminal jurisprudence.
The full paper is attached for the benefit of legal practitioners, policymakers, judicial officers, academics, and stakeholders seeking deeper insights into the future direction of criminal justice administration in Nigeria.
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