A Sociological Perspective on the Medicalisation of Crime in the Nigerian Justice System

Abstract

Medicalisation of crime reflects a shift in contemporary Justice System, where deviant behaviour is interpreted and managed through medical frameworks. Within the Nigerian context, this phenomenon has deep implications, particularly in the treatment of delinquents associated with drug abuse, murder, insurgency, terrorism, and cybercrimes. This paper examines the trend of medicalising crimes within the Nigerian Justice System through the lens of Medical Sociology, justified by the need to interrogate the thin line between criminality and illness, and its importance lies in its capacity to illuminate the intersection between health and justice. Drawing on the theoretical framework such as Conrad’s theory of medicalisation, Foucault’s concept of the medical gaze, and labelling theory by Howard Becker, this paper explores how criminal behaviour is reframed as a product of mental disorders rather than deliberate aberration.  The paper employs a conceptual and interpretive methodology as it does not rely on field data, but engages with ideas, theories, and existing literature. The paper examines selected judicial cases like Faith Isoken v. The State (2018), Edoho v. The State (2016), and Kaza v. The State (2008), as well as the administrative initiative programs like Operation Safe Corridor (2016–date). The analysis reveals that while medicalisation introduces a more humane approach to justice by recognizing offenders as individuals in need of treatment, it also exposes systemic inequalities. The affluent, who can afford psychiatric evaluation and legal representation, often benefit from mitigated judgments, whereas indigent defendants are denied similar consideration due to lack of access to psychiatric expertise. The study finds that this uneven application reproduces social and class disparities within the criminal justice system, thereby reinforcing structural inequality under the guise of therapeutic reform. It concludes that equitable access to forensic psychiatric evaluation and mental health services must be institutionalized within Nigeria’s Justice System to ensure justice that is both fair and restorative.