Reps Seeks To Remove Correctional Services From Exclusive Legislative List

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed for second
reading a bill seeking to decentralize the Correctional Services in
the country and allow states to build and control such centres
alongside the federal government.

When passed into law, state governments will be empowered to
build their own Correctional Centres as a way of decongesting the
existing centres which are said to have been over stressed.

Leading the debate on the bill, its Sponsor, Hon. Benjamin Kalu
said as presently constituted, prisons in Nigeria lack the capacity
to reform errant members of the society sent there for
correction.

According to him, “rather than being reformed and turning a new
leaf, many offenders sent to the prisons turn out to become even
more hardened.”

He added that “obsolete legislation, slow justice system and
inadequate funding are prominent on the list of challenges
bedeviling the Nigerian prisons to reform locked-up inmates.”

He argued that the new Nigerian Correctional Service Act which
repealed and replaced the Prisons reflects the need to reform
system, adding that “beyond the name change, the law has many
provisions, which are laudable and cheering.

“For instance, as a direct response to the overcrowded prisons,
the law, in its Section 12(8), empowers the State Controller of
Correctional Service to reject the intake of additional inmates
where the facility under his watch is filled to capacity.

He argued that the problem of prison congestion in the country
is huge, saying “for instance, the March 2019 edition of the Lagos
State Criminal Information System revealed that though the five
prisons in Lagos State have a combined holding capacity of 4,087,
they were holding 9,044 inmates.

Kalu said that the 240 prisons in Nigeria has an official
capacity of 50,153 inmates but currently holding over 74,000
inmates, adding that “overcrowding of prisons is a serious
challenge and obstacle to the implementation of the Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the United
Nations in 2015.

“Considering the Covid Protocols, especially of social
distancing, one wonders how it would be applied in the correctional
centres in view of the overcrowding it is currently
experiencing.

He said the way forward was for more prisons to be built;
stressing that achieving total reform of the reformatory
institutions in the country would never be possible except the
nations takes a deliberate and bold step towards building more
reformatory centres.

This he said can only be achieved by encouraging federating
units to be part of the establishment and running of correctional
facilities in their respective domains, adding that once this is
done, the federating units can cater for many of the inmates in
prisons and correctional centres who committed or have been alleged
to commit state offences and that of course will lessen the burden
of the Federal Government.

Contributing to the debate on the bill, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi
said the management of the prisons in the country by the federal
government has not been quite effective, hence the need to
decentralize and respect the rights of prisoners.

Hon. Ahmed Jaha in his contribution said that in other climes,
convicts are sent to prison based on the magnitude offence they
commit, adding that there was the need to allow states establish
and manage such centres.

But Hon. Nkem Abonta opposed the bill saying states may abuse
the process if they are allowed to build and control prisons.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed for second
reading a bill seeking to decentralize the Correctional Services in
the country and allow states to build and control such centres
alongside the federal government.

When passed into law, state governments will be empowered to
build their own Correctional Centres as a way of decongesting the
existing centres which are said to have been over stressed.

Leading the debate on the bill, its Sponsor, Hon. Benjamin Kalu
said as presently constituted, prisons in Nigeria lack the capacity
to reform errant members of the society sent there for
correction.

According to him, “rather than being reformed and turning a new
leaf, many offenders sent to the prisons turn out to become even
more hardened.”

He added that “obsolete legislation, slow justice system and
inadequate funding are prominent on the list of challenges
bedeviling the Nigerian prisons to reform locked-up inmates.”

He argued that the new Nigerian Correctional Service Act which
repealed and replaced the Prisons reflects the need to reform
system, adding that “beyond the name change, the law has many
provisions, which are laudable and cheering.

“For instance, as a direct response to the overcrowded prisons,
the law, in its Section 12(8), empowers the State Controller of
Correctional Service to reject the intake of additional inmates
where the facility under his watch is filled to capacity.

He argued that the problem of prison congestion in the country
is huge, saying “for instance, the March 2019 edition of the Lagos
State Criminal Information System revealed that though the five
prisons in Lagos State have a combined holding capacity of 4,087,
they were holding 9,044 inmates.

Kalu said that the 240 prisons in Nigeria has an official
capacity of 50,153 inmates but currently holding over 74,000
inmates, adding that “overcrowding of prisons is a serious
challenge and obstacle to the implementation of the Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the United
Nations in 2015.

“Considering the Covid Protocols, especially of social
distancing, one wonders how it would be applied in the correctional
centres in view of the overcrowding it is currently
experiencing.

He said the way forward was for more prisons to be built;
stressing that achieving total reform of the reformatory
institutions in the country would never be possible except the
nations takes a deliberate and bold step towards building more
reformatory centres.

This he said can only be achieved by encouraging federating
units to be part of the establishment and running of correctional
facilities in their respective domains, adding that once this is
done, the federating units can cater for many of the inmates in
prisons and correctional centres who committed or have been alleged
to commit state offences and that of course will lessen the burden
of the Federal Government.

Contributing to the debate on the bill, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi
said the management of the prisons in the country by the federal
government has not been quite effective, hence the need to
decentralize and respect the rights of prisoners.

Hon. Ahmed Jaha in his contribution said that in other climes,
convicts are sent to prison based on the magnitude offence they
commit, adding that there was the need to allow states establish
and manage such centres.

But Hon. Nkem Abonta opposed the bill saying states may abuse
the process if they are allowed to build and control prisons.