CAPITAL

The topic critically examines the enduring and controversial practice of the death penalty within Nigeria’s legal system. Though a feature of Nigerian law since the colonial era, its continued application stands in stark contrast to global abolitionist trends and poses significant questions regarding the sanctity of fundamental human rights enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The study employs a doctrinal approach, analyzing relevant Nigerian statutes, key judicial pronouncements, particularly of the Supreme Court and pertinent international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party. The Human Rights Perspective critically assesses the death penalty's impact on the constitutional rights to life as provided in Section 331 and freedom from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment as provided in Section 342 . It highlights concerns surrounding the finality of the sentence in the face of flawed criminal justice processes, the persistent issue of wrongful convictions, and the ethical implications of the "death row phenomenon." The study subsequently investigates the Constitutional Challenges, focusing on two primary areas: the legality of the mandatory death sentence for certain offenses, which limits judicial discretion, and the constitutional validity of execution methods. It analyzes the evolving jurisprudence of Nigerian courts which, while largely upholding the constitutionality of the death penalty, have concurrently introduced judicial safeguards and stricter interpretations of due process. The research concludes that the practice of capital punishment, especially its mandatory nature and the lengthy delays preceding execution, is increasingly difficult to reconcile with the fundamental tenets of modern constitutional democracy and international human rights law. It recommends a legislative review to abolish mandatory sentencing and proposes a national moratorium as an essential step toward eventual abolition

This study examined the effect of capital structure on the financial performance of deposit
money banks with international authorization listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
The study covered seven banks over a six-year period (2018–2023), yielding a total of 42
bank-year observations. Secondary data were extracted from audited annual financial
statements, while financial performance was proxied by Return on Assets (ROA). The capital
structure variables included Total Debt Ratio (TDR), Equity Ratio (ER), Long-Term Debt
(LTD), and Short-Term Debt (STD). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics,
correlation analysis, diagnostic tests, and multiple regression techniques through SPSS 25.
The descriptive statistics revealed that Nigerian deposit money banks rely heavily on debt
financing, particularly short-term debt. Correlation results showed no significant linear
relationship between ROA and the capital structure variables, although strong internal
correlations existed among TDR, ER, and STD. Diagnostic tests confirmed the absence of
multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, and non-normality. Due to perfect
multicollinearity between TDR and ER, both variables were excluded from the regression
model, leaving LTD and STD as the final predictors.
The regression results showed that Long-Term Debt (LTD) had a positive but statistically
insignificant effect on financial performance, while Short-Term Debt (STD) exerted a
negative and insignificant effect. The model’s explanatory power was weak (R² = 0.070),
indicating that capital structure accounts for only 7% of variations in bank profitability.
Based on the 5% significance threshold, all hypotheses were accepted, showing that none of
the capital structure variables significantly predicted financial performance during the
period under review.
The study concludes that capital structure does not have a significant effect on the financial
performance of internationally active Nigerian banks, suggesting that profitability in the
banking sector is driven more by operational efficiency, asset quality, regulatory compliance,
and macroeconomic factors than by leverage decisions. The study recommends that bank
managers adopt balanced financing strategies while regulators strengthen policies that
promote sustainable liquidity and risk management.