Logistics and conflicting laws are slowing the implementation of non-custodial measures in Nigeria, experts have said.
This was revealed on the sidelines of an event on dissemination strategies for the implementation of noncustodial measures in the FCT, organized by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) program.
Professor Uju Agomoh, an expert in justice and prison reform, revealed that 70% of inmates in correctional facilities accross Nigeria are awaiting trial.
Non-custodial measures are alternatives to imprisonment or detention for individuals convicted of crimes. They are aimed at reducing the use of incarceration, promoting rehabilitation, reintegration into society, and reducing the risk of reoffending. Some common non-custodial measures include community service, parole, probation, restorative justice and so on.
Professor Agamah says while this figure is much higher depending on the facility, the federal government and Nigerian Correctional Service could significantly cut down that number if it adopts non-custodial measures.
“70 percent of those who are in custody are there not as convicted persons and that statistics is the statistics about the general for the whole country. There are correctional centres where that number is about 90 percent, 92, 93 percent of those in their custody being those who haven’t been convicted. So you can imagine that, you know, correctional management and dealing with these persons will be such a big problem for correctional officers.
“There are people who have committed offenses and offenses are minor. Now, by putting them there and feeding them, those oppressors, not only that you’re wasting the money of the state, but also you’re exposing them to more criminality, exposing the innocent ones to meet hardened criminals that they would not have met before, who now can now start teaching them what they were not into.
“So, we must use imprisonment as a measure of last resort. So, it’s only when it’s extremely necessary because there are people who will need to be kept away for some time to reform them, rehabilitate them, deal with the risk factors before you release them.
“When you look at non-custodial measures, there are measures that encourage you to give sanctions without necessarily feeding on state resources.
“There are also different parts. Some can be a combination of different things. But under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019, Section 37, Subsection 1, you have these provisions that I have mentioned.
“Community service, focusing on giving something back to society. Probation, providing opportunity to deal with the risk factors for the offender and focusing on the offender. Parole, which looks at reintegration, promoting opportunity to reintegrate back into the community. And then restorative justice, which focuses on the victim. And this gives the court a wide range to choose from and provide us.
A Project Officer at RoLAC, Peter Omenka, said that while a number of justice and law enforcement agencies have shown desire to adopt non-custodial approaches, they voiced concerns over some logistical chalenges.
“So there is a need for reconciliation between those two pieces of legislation, without which they will be in a difficult position to implement some of the sections.
While the implementation of non-custodial measures, as captured by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA 2015) and the Nigeria Correctional Service Act (NCSA 2019), directly addresses the issue of overcrowded prisons, data reveals that these measures are not being utilized optimally.
