Abuja: The Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) has issued a call for heightened awareness and the expanded use of non-custodial measures as a strategy to alleviate overcrowding in correctional facilities nationwide. This call was made during a stakeholders’ meeting focused on non-custodial measures, held on Monday in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, PRAWA’s Executive Director, Dr. Uju Agomoh, delivered a speech highlighting the negative impacts of custodial sentencing, such as the deprivation of family presence, exposure to hardened criminals, and long-term social implications for offenders. Agomoh emphasized the importance of addressing existing gaps and obstacles in the implementation of non-custodial sentences and advocated for alternatives like community service, probation, and restorative justice as effective solutions to reduce inmate populations.
The roundtable, organized by PRAWA in collaboration with the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), received funding support from the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme. NAN notes that non-custodial measures, which include probation, parole, and community service, provide viable alternatives to imprisonment, particularly for minor offenders, allowing them to be supervised outside of correctional facilities.
Agomoh presented a paper titled ‘Understanding Non-Custodial Measures: Framework and Institutional Mandate,’ underscoring the initiative’s focus on building upon previous successes while addressing the challenges of prison congestion. She noted that non-custodial practices have historical roots in African traditional justice systems, which were later overshadowed by English common law practices.
Criticizing the over-reliance on detention in Nigeria, Agomoh highlighted the severe overcrowding in urban correctional facilities due to the high number of Awaiting Trial Inmates. She pointed out that even though rural correctional centres are less congested, fully implementing non-custodial measures is crucial to alleviating overcrowding in urban areas. Agomoh attributed the prevalent use of imprisonment to an institutional bias favoring custodial sentences among law enforcement agencies, judicial officers, and society.
She further stated that the NCoS Act 2019 provides a legal framework supporting the implementation of non-custodial measures and cited Rwanda’s post-genocide approach, which used traditional justice mechanisms for community-based rehabilitation, as a successful model. Agomoh also stressed the importance of accountability in non-custodial measures, insisting that offenders must bear responsibility for their actions and face suitable penalties.
In her welcome address, Deputy Controller of Corrections in charge of Non-Custodial Services, Onyinyechi Okoro, emphasized the necessity of strengthening alternative sentencing measures. She asserted that minor offences and light sentences should not automatically lead to incarceration, as this approach would aid in mitigating overcrowding in correctional facilities.
Delivering a goodwill message, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting PRAWA and its partners in promoting non-custodial measures to reduce prison congestion and cut government expenditure on inmate upkeep. Represented by Yusuf Abdullahi, a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Justice, Fagbemi maintained that non-custodial measures encouraged restorative justice, benefiting both victims and offenders.
Other stakeholders at the meeting called for a more structured approach to enforcing non-custodial sentences under Section 37(1) of the NCoS Act 2019, which provides for alternatives such as community service, probation, and parole. They also advocated for stronger collaboration among the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and civil society to ensure the broader adoption and effective implementation of these measures.