ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE BASED ON FINDINGS OF NEUROSCIENCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria operates adversarial system of litigation in both civil and criminal proceedings. It therefore follows that allegation of facts can never be established without leading credible, reliable and admissible evidence. Consequently, the leading of compelling and admissible evidence by a qualified witness to sway the mind of the court is inevitable under the accusatorial system of litigation practiced in Nigeria. The strict rules of evidence are fundamentally regulated by the provisions of the Nigerian Evidence Act 2011. Therefore, the broad aim of this scholarly investigation is to explore the contemporary advancements in the fields of neuroscience and determinism as the bases for determination of criminal responsibility. Hence, the principal objective of the scholarly appreciation is to examine the legal possibilities of using the knowledge derived from the scientific domains of neuroscience and determinism within the context of admissibility under the extant laws and rules of evidence in Nigeria. The paper employs doctrinal research method as a tool to analyse how the advancements of the knowledge industry and the advocacy in the fields of neuroscience and determinism may be integrated into the rules and dynamics of the law of evidence in Nigeria.