jurisdiction and venue of criminal trials

Jurisdiction is the authority of a court to decide matters that are litigated before it or take cognizance of matters presented before it. A court will be said to have jurisdiction when; it is properly constituted by numbers and qualifications of the judges, the subject matter falls within its statutory purview, the case is initiated by due process of law and fulfillment of any condition precedent. Where a court lacks jurisdiction in a matter, whatever it does, no matter how well conducted is a nullity and is liable to quashed on appeal. See Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962), Edet v. State (2009), AG Federation v. Abubakar (2009)

The Court with criminal jurisdiction in Southern Nigeria are; Customary Court (Lagos State), Magistrate Court, State High Court, Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In the Northern Nigeria the courts are; Area Courts (FCT), Sharia Courts, Magistrate Courts, State High Courts, Federal High Courts, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Yes there are courts with special criminal jurisdiction. They are as follows;

1.Juvenile Court; established to try children and juvenile offenders. Its proceedings are not open to the public. See Children & Young Persons Act Cap 485

2.National Industrial Court; is provided for under section 254A (1) of the Constitution. S.254C (5) confers criminal jurisdiction.

3.Court Martial; are established by the Armed Forces Decree No. 105 of 1993 (as amended). They deal with offences committed by service men.

4.International Criminal Court; this is different from International Court of Justice. It has jurisdiction to try crimes committed on the territory of member states or committed by Nationals of member states.

A magistrate shall not sentence a person to a prison term of more than 14 years. This confirms the existing position that no magistrate has jurisdiction to try a capital offence. See S.29(5) MCL Lagos.