In Nigeria, many criminal trials have had the Prosecuting side attempt to convict the Defendant through a confessional statement made by the latter at the Police Station during investigation. In the confessional statement, the Defendant purportedly admits to committing the crime he or she has been charged with. In most of such trials, the Defendant states that he or she actually made the confessional statement but complains afterwards that he or she did so because he or she was beaten, forced, threatened or promised some benefit (for example, release from police custody and termination of the case to avoid prosecution in court).

The term, “locus standi” is Latin and literally means "place of standing". In its expounded legal form, locus standi denotes the legal right or capacity of a person to institute an action in a court of law when his right is trampled upon by somebody or authority. The underpinning behind the idea is that for an individual to be able to bring up a law suit against another, such an individual must show that he has been directly affected by the conduct complained of in the suit. It was evolved to protect the court from being converted into a jamboree by professional litigants or meddlesome interlopers who have no interest in matters. For locus standi to be proven, a plaintiff must establish (1) that the act being challenged has caused the plaintiff actual injury; (2) that the interest sought to be protected is within the zone of interests meant to be regulated by the statutory or constitutional guarantee in question.