HURILAWS, Onevoice Coalition, Advocate Effective Use of Non-Custodial Sentencing in Lagos
In the light of the recently enacted Nigerian Correctional Services Act 2019, the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) and Onevoice Coalition, have advocated for effective use of non-custodial sentencing in Lagos State.
The human rights groups expressed concerns that the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) has not significantly impacted the prisons, despite the fact that one of the reasons for enactment of the Lagos ACJL was the overcrowded condition of Lagos prisons, amongst other challenges.
Senior Legal/Programmes Officer, HURILAWS, Collins Okeke said this last week, at CSO/Media Parley on the Lagos State ACJL, jointly organised by HURILAWS and Onevoice Coalition.
Okeke in his opening remarks said HURILAWS since inception, has been involved in advocacy for reform of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
“We have worked with several States and the Federal Government, to ensure passage of the ACJL and Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). Our focus now, is to ensure effective implementation of the ACJL/ACJA.
“In Lagos State, we are concerned that the ACJL has not significantly impacted the prisons. One of the reasons for enactment of the Lagos ACJL was the overcrowded condition of Lagos prisons, amongst other challenges.
“The expectation was that, with the Lagos ACJL, the number of persons on awaiting trial and in prisons in Lagos, will significantly reduce. Sadly, that has not been the case”, he stated.
According to Okeke, a report released in 2017 by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, indicates that Lagos State has the largest concentration of persons in prisons in Nigeria.
“Anecdotal evidence suggests that, this may be as a result of a weak non-custodial legal framework. There is a growing shift from Custodial, to Non-Custodial sentencing. Experts around the world are developing new Non-Custodial measures, and improving on existing ones.
“The Parley will assess the implementation of non-custodial provisions of the Lagos State ACJL 2015, with a view to making recommendations for improvements”, Okeke added.
Also speaking at the event, National President, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, (CDHR), Comrade Malachy Ugwumadu, said the need to ensure effective use of non-custodial measures in the criminal justice system generally, and as provided under the ACJL of Lagos State, cannot be overstated.
Ugwumadu, who spoke on ‘Ensuring Effective Use of NonCustodial Provisions of the Lagos ACJL, 2015’ noted that, there has to be a conscious adoption of a set of basic principles to promote the use of non-custodial measures.
The CDHR President thanked the organisers of the parley at a
time such as this in the life of the nation, when the number of pre-trial detainees has reached the highest level, when the conditions of holding facilities as detention or custodial centres are worse than ever, when more citizens, especially Journalists and media practitioners are being arrested and subjected to detention, and when persons granted bail, are still held in custody.
He defined Non-Custodial sentence in criminal justice, as a collective reference to all the different methods, other than custodial sentence (jail term), by which the courts can punish offenders who have been convicted of an offence.
“Sometimes referred to as alternative sentencing or community sentence, non-custodial sentence could include fines, canning, forfeiture, parole, community service, probation, deportation, house arrest, curfew, mandatory treatment, binding over or rehabilitation programmes, apology to victims, restrictive orders, regular reporting, etc.
“Remarkable as this idea is, it is doubtful what the legislature intends to achieve with the concentration of all appointments in the Office of Mr. President, except to further consolidate his powers as Executive President.
“What precisely is meant by the phase “constituted by the National Assembly”? Could it be referring to the general powers of the Senate of the National Assembly, to approve appointments made by Mr. President under the Constitution? This is one possibility, except that it refers, this time, to the National Assembly presupposing the concurrence of both chambers of the National Assembly. Could it simply mean that the composition of the National Committee on Non-Custodial Measures, shall be the joint responsibility of the President and the National Assembly? Surely, this will be unnecessary and will create confusion, allowing the Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice being the Chief Law Officer of the country under Section 150 of the Constitution, with the constitutional mandate to make the said appointment in conjunction with the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, who, in turn, was appointed by the President, would have been most appropriate in my view and In its goodwill message, the Lagos State Judiciary stated that, the ACJL has introduced several innovations aimed at fast-tracking justice delivery.
“Non-custodial sentence, assists in excluding minor offenders from serving jail terms.
“Lagos State Judiciary, in line with its ongoing reforms, launched two Practice Directions towards the effective administration of the ACJL. The restorative justice system directs that, minor offences will be sent to the recently created restorative justice centres, to the extent that minor offenders will no longer go to jail, as much as possible, noting that, they must be willing to take responsibility for their actions.
“Magistrate Courts are now much about reconciliation, rehabilitation, restitution, imposition of fines, and community service.
“In all, the Lagos State Judiciary, with the help of all stake holders, shall successfully drive this novel path in Nigeria, that has been widely towed in almost all developed jurisdictions of the world.”