Benue State University, Makurdi

Plea Bargaining in Economic Crimes involving Companies in Nigeria: A Palliative to the Festering Wounds of Corporate Stakeholders without Cure

Nicholas Iorember Iorun*, Rachel Nwasolu Imbwaseh** and Matthew Atonko***

Abstract

The Corporate form is characterized by legal personality, limited liability, transferable shares, delegated management under a board structure, and investor ownership. The shareholders invest in the company as owners while the board of directors manage the company on behalf of the shareholders and in the interest of other stakeholders. Delegation of management of the business of the company is a source of corporate opportunism as directors or officers employ various ways of expropriating the shareholders. They embark on asset stripping and sometimes, brazenly steal the profits. These criminal acts have serious social and economic repercussions on the corporate stakeholders, warranting sanctions. In recent times, however, prosecution of corporate criminals has been a matter of negotiated agreements between the prosecutors and accused persons under the concept of plea bargaining. These are matters of concern which have motivated this discourse. Using the doctrinal method, this article has examined the concept of plea bargaining and its practice in Nigeria, and found that the application of the concept to economic crimes involving companies is inappropriate because of the operation of corporate personality which casts a distinction between the company and its shareholders which extends to property ownership. It is difficult to determine the real victim of an economic crime perpetrated by directors or officers of the company who are custodians of its property for purposes of restitution. Considering the effects of economic crime on all corporate stakeholders and susceptibility of plea bargaining to abuse, this article recommends its non-application to economic crimes involving companies, and longer jail sentences for such criminals.

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