ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a summation of the administrative and institutional practices of witness protection. It identifies the police-based structure, the prosecutor-based structure, and the establishment of an independent witness protection agency as the three main models for administering witness protection. It discusses the implication of informal systems of protection vis-à-vis formal protection systems on establishing a witness protection framework. The chapter also includes the characteristics of witness protection which include autonomy/independence, accountability, and confidentiality. The chapter highlights the challenges that arise within witness protection discourse discussed within the titles of economic and political factors. It also includes the prospects for establishing witness protection within national criminal justice systems. The challenges highlighted in this chapter draw attention to the constraint of policy transfer in adopting witness protection practices and its implications for Nigeria.
