INSANITY AS A DEFENCE FOR THE OFFENCE OF ASSAULT AND BATTERY: AN APPRAISAL

The need to discover the most appropriate pattern of applying Insanity as a defence to the offence of Assault and Battery brought about my embarking on this work. The knowledge deficit when it comes to Insanity especially in the Nigerian indigenous and rural system of practice pushed me into this work in order to garner more enlightenment on the position of the law and various fundamental institutions regarding the Insanity defence. The aim and purpose of this work is not only to examine the Insanity defence concept but also to discover the true extent to which the defence can hold while considering its perfect alignment so as to properly fit the dynamic ever changing nature of our modern society. In so doing, a proper demarcation is aimed at being drawn between Insanity and Automatism in order to quell the confusion trailing the two concepts and to be able to achieve a more perfect understanding of the defence of Insanity. In appraising the defence of Insanity, this work adopted doctrinal methodology and exploratory library research, where primary and secondary data sources were acquired which consist of data from journals, textbooks, case laws, acts and statutes from laws of the Federation of Nigeria and also historical laws beyond the shores of Nigeria. The doctrinal method of research was adopted in the course of this work. The study also reviewed existing literature, both published and unpublished papers, a collection of materials and sources of websites, bibliography, periodicals, law reports and textbooks on insanity. During the course of this work, the position of the law concerning the defence of Insanity was discovered to be on the basis of adequate proof of Insanity by the accused in order to be accorded the statues of an Insane person while the crime was being committed, In order to escape liability, such claims must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Also during the course of this research discourse, the institutional foundation of the hospital was discovered to play not so much of a definitive role in convincing the court of the truthfulness of an accused’s claim of insanity but rather just constitutes one of the foundations the court considers as the court is actually more hinged on the legal grounds and proof as laid down by the constitution, Statutes and Acts. In conclusion, it is imperative to recommend that our law as far as the defence of insanity is concerned should be amended in order to incorporate some issues which are left untreated such as a killing which occurs as a result of belief in the supernatural powers and stop the rigid application of common law of crime of common law of crime. Secondly, in the interest of justice, it is recommended that forensic mental health practitioners in Nigeria should develop enlightenment strategies to raise the awareness of actors in the Criminal Justice System on the benefit of expert opinion in cases involving the adoption of the insanity plea. This is without prejudice to the provisions of the Evidence Act (2011) which limit the impact of the experts’ opinion on the ultimate issue. In addition, Nigerian practitioners will benefit from appropriate training in relation to expert witness roles in order to improve the reliability of expert evidence so that it better serves its intended purpose of aiding the courts in trials involving defendants who adopt the insanity and finally the phrases ‘disease of the mind’ and ‘natural mental infirmity’ should be defined by the criminal law statutes. This will go a long way in assisting the judge in deciding what conducts qualifies as insane conducts and what conduct does not. Our criminal law statutes need to be amended to incorporate a more elaborate provision relating to the insanity defence. Although, this work has distinguished between legal and medical insanity, it is the conclusion of this work that there should be a medical perspective to the provision which the medical practitioners will be able to relate with in cases involving the insanity defence.