The panel investigating abuses within the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) on Thursday called for intentional adoption of non-custodial measures to reduce overcrowding in correctional centres.
“It is very clear that the issue of non-custodial measures is something that is supposed to help us as a nation address the overbearing population in our various custodial centres,” said the secretary of the panel, Uju Agomoh, on the fourth day of the last phase of the panel’s public hearing.
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She added, “There are persons who may not need to be treated in terms of being in custody, and the panel feels that this is something we should utilise and find a way to use this creatively. But it’s obvious that we do not seem to have adequate resources in dealing with that.”
Ms Agomoh also noted that there are low-risk offenders who were sentenced to jail time with an option of fines but remain in prison just becuase they are unable to offset their fines.
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She said, sometimes, “the fines are very little compared to the expenditure that the government will spend upon them.”
To address congestion, Ms Agomoh emphasised the urgent need to implement non-custodial measures like community service.
“Community service is another non-custodial measure. Community service is about you giving back to society. So you work at no cost. Nobody pays you to go to work. And we feel it’s very wonderful. Instead of you going to be in custody and the government will be feeding you,” she said.
Ms Agomoh also solicited collaboration from stakeholders, including academic institutions, judiciary, law enforcement agencies, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the public.
She also suggested drafting retired NCoS staff as parole officers, but stressed the need for proper training. Following the suggestion, the panel asked the NCoS to submit a breakdown of the number of staff serving in the non-custodial centres.
During the discussions, a delegate from the NCoS, I.N. Idris, said awaiting-trial inmates constitute more than half of the inmates in some congested custodial centres.
Congestion is a plague in the correctional centres. In July, the House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions called for an urgent infrastructural overhaul of Nigeria’s correctional centres, citing years of neglect and chronic overcrowding.
Tracking the panel’s proceedings
The independent investigative panel on the alleged corruption and abuse of power, torture, cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment in the NCoS was constituted by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in September 2024, following allegations of corruption and gross misconduct involving NCoS officials and cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky.
The panel held the first two phases of its hearing in September 2024 and March 2025. The ongoing sitting is the last phase of the public hearing.
PREMIUM TIMES has covered the public hearing since it began here, here, and here.
The agenda of this final phase of the hearing includes addressing issues that impede the effectiveness of rehabilitation and the misnomer within the NCoS. Among such issues are congestion, gender related matters, treatment of Persons with Disabilities, and child detention.
READ ALSO: Nasarawa Prison Break: 16 inmates escape, latest in string of jailbreaks despite government assurances
Issues with fines
Part of Thursday’s discussion also dealt with the issue of fines.
Another NCoS representative, L.C. Cyrus, stated that “fines provide flexibility but also breed inequality within the system.”
Mr Cyrus urged the judiciary to ensure that fines are proportional to crimes and individual capacity.
This also prompted the panel to plead with the Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take the necessary steps in ensuring an efficient system of administration of fines.
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