In every society, there always exist elements of deviancy. There are always persons who will unhesitatingly take an antipodean posture against the Law. Often referred to as offenders, deviants, criminals culprits e.t.c, the need to curtail these odd few facilitated the evolvement of the Justice system vested with the task of investigating and apprehending offenders, prosecuting, punishing and correcting them. The Justice system which is sometimes held to be coterminous with only the courts however stretches beyond that; it is a consortium of institutions which cut across the Law enforcement agencies, the court and the correctional system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This exegesis is chiefly concerned with examining the Nigeria Correctional system vis-a-vis the recently signed Nigeria Correctional Service Act, 2019. According to Section 2 of the Act, the new law aims at the following: compliance with international human rights standards and good correctional practices; providing enabling platform for the implementation of non-custodial measures; enhancing the focus on corrections, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders and establishing institutional and sustainable mechanism from the correctional service in response to the problem of high number of awaiting trial persons. This work will examine the possibilities of metamorphosing these sublime objectives and other dreamy provisions within The Act into reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE NIGERIAN CORRECTIONAL SERVICE<\/strong> Some problems of the National Correctional system which has persisted for eons include; over population, poor feeding, lack of access to justice, deplorable sanitary facilities, absence\/ineffectiveness of skill acquisition and rehabilitation programs, high handedness of correctional officials and a long league of others. NIGERIAN CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ACT 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 14th of August 2019 heralded the introduction of a new law (Act) aimed at infusing new life into a comatose prison system in Nigeria. The Nigerian Correctional Service Act received presidential imprimatur and immediately repealed the Prisons Act, 1972. The most conspicuous change introduced by the Act is the change in nomenclature of the Prison service. Section 1(1) provides thus, \u0093There is established for the Federation, the Nigerian Correctional Service\u0085\u0094. Furthermore, the Correctional Service is balkanized into two faculties:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 The Custodial Service; and The custodial service will primarily take custody and control of legally detained persons in safe, humane and habitable conditions, transporting detainees to and from courts; deducing and identifying the causes of anti-social behaviours by inmates and implementing rehabilitation programmes for inmates, among others. Another unwonted and relatively prodigious provision of the Act is that it empowers the State Comptroller of the Correctional Service to reject additional prisoners where the prison is already filled to capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst these novel provisions are commendably sublime and laced with virgin pure intentions, many have enthused that the problem of Nigeria is not the paucity of wonderful legislations but the apparent reluctance or moreso incapacity to effectuate the provisions of these legislations. As a corollary, they express fears that the Correctional Service Act might just end up bitten by the same bug. These fears are not unfounded, they are elicited by some the very lofty provisions of The Act \u0096 lofty, because when juxtaposed with our prevalent societal ambiance the expected end will be that of one who chose to sow the sand, impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consequently, the foregoing has formed the gamut of criticisms reeled on the Act and will form the basis of the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CRITICISM<\/strong> One provision of The Act that has left many puzzled is Section 12(8) which gives the State Controller of the Correctional Service in conjunction with the Superintendent the power to reject intake of more inmates when it is apparent that the Correctional Centre in question is filled to capacity. There are two challenges with this provision. Firstly, given the fact that all our correctional centres are already filled up far above capacity, with some holding way beyond 200% of its original capacity, Section 12(8) can be said to be inconsequential (at least incumbently), the section has been handcuffed by prevailing circumstances from taking effect . This is so because the contemplation of that provision is the prevention of correctional centres over-population. But as it appears, what it was designed to prevent has already occurred, more like medicine after death. The second challenge with this provision will be structured in question form, Dear readers, since the State Comptroller is empowered to reject an inmate on the ground of the exhausted capacity of a Correctional Centre, where will the rejected inmate be taken to? Will such an inmate be released? Whilst we try to navigate through the puzzle posed by the foregoing question, there remain other challenges to be faced in implementing the provisions of the Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With an epileptic database of inmates, implementing the non-custodial correctional measures as provided for in the Act will simply amount to a fool\u0092s errand. With the technological backwardness of the Correctional Service, How will an inmate be traced if he dissipates into thin air, what mechanism will be used in tracing him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, Correctional Centres nationwide are still bedeviled with the problem of poor funding and dilapidated infrastructure, making the centres grossly inhabitable and pernicious to inmates. This negates the objectives of the new Act as expressed in Section 2. Without improved funding for the service, the state of infrastructure in Correctional Centres will even get worse inspite of the provisions of the Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To forestall this piece from sliding into the waters of insipidity, this writer will halt the criticism ambit here. Criticism amounts to futility if not accompanied with relevant recommendations and suggestions. On this note, we trek carefully into the next ambit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RECOMMENDATIONS<\/strong> On another strand off same tree, the justice system should be improved. Unnecessary detentions should be avoided, as 80% of inmates in Correctional Centres are awaiting trials and concluding these cases will greatly reduce the level of congestion in these Centres. Also, legal aid should be provided for inmates who are incapable of accessing legal services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CONCLUSION<\/strong> Inmates are not less human and should not be subjected to inhuman and debasing conditions, as the aim of the Correctional Service is to rehabilitate and make better persons out of convicts and not to make them worse of. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INTRODUCTION In every society, there always exist elements of deviancy. There are always persons who will unhesitatingly take an antipodean posture against the Law. Often referred to as offenders, deviants, criminals culprits e.t.c, the need to curtail these odd few facilitated the evolvement of the Justice system vested with the task of investigating and apprehending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-studies"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Nigeria Prisons Service (now known as Nigeria Correctional Service by virtue of Section 1 of the Nigeria Correctional Service Act) was first established in 1861 by the British colonial government and has since gone through several changes, alterations and inclusions till date. Notwithstanding, several anomalies which revolve around managing the correctional and rehabilitation process of inmates have remained, defying several amendments of the administrative and legal framework of the correctional service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to note that in the presence of the aforementioned conditions, the purpose of prison\/correctional facilities is deposed. Consequently, what we have is an ersatz of what ought to be. The conditions at its best leads to the psychological and emotional brutalization of inmates. A study by Emeka Obioha of Walter Sisulu University on the problems and prospects of the Nigerian Prison System states that the Police, the prison and the entire justice administration architecture in the country makes a criminal more hardened and like a flower bed the penchant to relapse to crime after exiting the prison is well watered by the deplorable conditions inherent therein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 The Non-custodial Service<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obversely, the Non-custodial service is statutorily charged with the responsibility of administering non-custodial measures like community service, probation, parole, restorative justice etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to the unhealthy state of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Federal Government should exhibit more commitment to the improvement of the Nigerian Correctional Service above and beyond just signing the bill into law. Massive rehabilitation and renovations should be carried out on Correctional Centres nationwide with the aim of improving detention conditions of inmates. The Federal Government through the Ministry of Interior should engage in training and re-training of Correctional officers to adjust their work credo to fit into the new regime established by the Act. Correctional Officers like their counterparts in other government agencies should be sponsored to take courses in developed countries on current global evolvements in Correctional service administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From all the points raised and elucidated thus far it is clear that without addressing some key problems which mar the Correctional Service, the only change the new Act will effect will simply be a change of name. Political-will should be exerted to effect the changes contained in Act to create an ideal Correctional system for our nation according to the intentions of the lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, to prevent our Correctional Centres from producing perpetually hardened criminals on release, the changes introduced by The Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 should go beyond a change in nomenclature<\/p>\n\n\n\n