OPPORTUNITY TO DEFEND ONESELF

                                                       MEANING

Opportunity to defend oneself It is the chance, privilege and/or right of someone to defend himself, property business etc lawfully or legally (i.e. within the ambit of the law). It is primarily concerned with the lawful act of protecting one's own interest, property, ideas etc within the ambit of the law.

It is a value of modern societies and a major ingredient of justice. It is a constitutional issue in all democratic societies. The Nigeria’s constitution of 1999 provides every citizen with the right to defend oneself. It is called ‘right to fair hearing’ in section 36 of the constitution. It states that ‘a person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or tribunal established by law.  As a matter of fact, right to fair hearing is one of the fundamental rights that Nigerians enjoy.

Avenues for self-defence

1)    The Court: The court is an institution that is presided over by a law officer, which adjudicates in dispute between persons and groups. Its major function is to grant fair hearing to people and groups in disputes, it never fail to allow an accused person the opportunity to defend him/herself.

2)    Tribunals: A tribunal is a special type of court set up to handle a particular problem or situation. As a special court, a tribunal affords persons and groups the opportunity to defend themselves before pronouncing verdict.

3)    Disciplinary Committee: Many formal organisations have disciplinary committees that look into matters brought against an employee. Such committee as a rule, never make recommendations to management on a matter without hearing from the accused person. This gives the accused person the opportunity to defend self.

4)    Traditional Rulers: The palace of traditional rulers in Nigeria is a court of sort. Aggrieved persons bring their cases to the palace and the traditional ruler, sitting in council, hears such cases. Accused persons are usually invited to the palace and given fair hearing before ruling is given.