A staggering 70% of inmates in Nigerian correctional facilities are awaiting trial, not convicted, according to Professor Uju Agomoh, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA).
Agomoh revealed this during an event on dissemination strategies for the implementation of non-custodial measures in Abuja, organized by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RULAC) programme.
The event highlighted the need for criminal justice reform in Nigeria, where flaws in the system lead to overcrowding in correctional facilities and violation of inmates’ rights.
Agomoh said: “70 per cent of those who are in custody are there not as convicted persons… There are correctional centres where that number is about 90 per cent, 92 per cent, 93 per cent of those in their custody being those who haven’t been convicted.
“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.”
Project Officer at RULAC, Peter Omenka, also noted that while justice and law enforcement agencies are willing to adopt non-custodial approaches, they face challenges in implementing plea bargaining provisions and sentencing guidelines due to conflicting legislation.
Omenka said, “In as much as they wanted to be part of the change story, they had several impediments inhibiting their desire to engage… They were asking questions that if you want us to implement plea bargaining provisions, if you want us to implement sentencing guidelines, if you want us to do all those things, are we looking at the logistical requirements that should be in place before these are implemented?
“For instance, Nigeria has a constitution, the judiciary has practice directions. None of those points to sentencing guidelines. None of those specifically points to that.”
According to a 2022 publication on the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) website, the capacity of Nigerian Custodial Centers stands at around 58,300, against a population of over 75,000 inmates, making them overcrowded by yet-to-be-convicted suspects.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA 2015) and the Nigeria Correctional Service Act (NCSA 2019) also provide for non-custodial measures, but their implementation remains a challenge.
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