Is your offence civil or criminal?

In Nigeria, the court is congested with civil cases filed under criminal acts. The Nigerian legal system addresses the wrongdoings that people commit with two different types of cases: civil and criminal for various reasons which do not make it right. Criminal cases are offences against the state, even if immediate harm is done to an individual and are accordingly prosecuted by the state in a criminal court while civil cases typically involve disputes between parties regarding the legal duties and responsibilities they owe to one another.

Consequently, family law disputes and property disputes are civil cases. These cases are handled through civil lawsuits that are prosecuted in civil court. However, there is some overlap between civil and criminal cases but there are several ways to differentiate between a criminal case and a civil case.

Crimes are considered offences against the state, or society as a whole. Criminal offences and civil offences are generally different in terms of punishment, the standard of proof is very different in a criminal case versus a civil case and defendants in a criminal case are entitled to a

Crimes against the state are prosecuted by the state and the prosecutor, which is generally the attorney general of the State or Federation or the Director of Public Prosecutions or in some cases, the Police, files the case in court as a representative of the state. If it is a civil claim, then a private party files the case.

Civil cases generally only result in monetary damages or orders to do or not do something, known as injunctions. A criminal case may involve both imprisonment and monetary punishment. Because criminal cases have greater consequences, including the possibility of jail and even the death penalty, criminal cases have many more protections in place and have a higher standard of proof.

Everyone accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until they are proven guilty. In general, crimes must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas civil claims are proven by lower standards of proof, such as the balance of probabilities.

Beyond a reasonable doubt means the prosecution has provided evidence that proves that there is no other reasonable explanation outside of the defendant’s guilt.

The prosecutor in a criminal proceeding has the burden of proving that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is known as the burden of proof. Under this burden, the defendant has no obligation to prove their innocence. The standard of proof the prosecutor must meet is much higher than in a civil case because criminal convictions, such as felonies and misdemeanors, tend to carry heavier consequences for a defendant than civil penalties do in civil suits.

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