The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) has called for stronger collaboration with the judiciary to improve the implementation of non-custodial measures, offender rehabilitation and community safety.
The NCS Controller-General, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche, made the call on Wednesday in Port Harcourt at a training program for officers of the service’s non-custodial units in Rivers.
Nwakuche said the NCS in Rivers would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of non-custodial measures.
In a goodwill message delivered on his behalf by the Controller of Corrections in Rivers, Mr Richard Williams, the NCS boss described the training as critical to strengthening collaboration between the correctional service and the judiciary.
He said that the effective implementation of non-custodial measures required strong institutional cooperation, professional competence, and effective communication.
According to him, non-custodial measures provide appropriate avenues for offenders to be supervised within their communities while promoting rehabilitation, reintegration and restorative justice.
Nwakuche urged participants to use the training to enhance their professional knowledge, improve sentence management and deepen collaboration with the judiciary.
He added that the program would strengthen compliance with judicial orders and improve sentence management by non-custodial officers.
Also speaking, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, called for stronger collaboration between the NCS and the judiciary to ensure the effective implementation of non-custodial measures and to decongest correctional centers.
Represented by Justice Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu, Amadi described non-custodial measures as structured judicial orders requiring discipline, measurable obligations, supervision and consequences for breaches.
He said Nigeria’s correctional system remained significantly overcrowded, with about 80,812 inmates as of Feb. 9.
“Out of the number, 51,955 are awaiting trial, 24,913 are convicted inmates while 3,850 are in other categories,” he said.
The Chief Judge said the Port Harcourt Correctional Center, built to accommodate 804 inmates, was housing more than 3,000 inmates.
“This underscores the urgent need for alternatives to imprisonment,” he said.
Amadi noted that the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, provided a statutory framework for non-custodial measures, including community service, probation, parole and restorative justice.
He urged non-custodial officers to ensure strict, transparent, confidential and reliable supervision of offenders, with prompt communication of court orders and compliance reports.
The Chief Judge also proposed a shared implementation protocol involving the judiciary, NCS and other justice-sector stakeholders to cover referral, receipt of court orders, offender induction, supervision, reporting, breach, variation and completion.
Chief Magistrate Ilanye Brown, Executive Secretary, ACJMC in Rivers, said non-custodial measures were designed to promote rehabilitation and accountability without compromising public safety.
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Brown said excessive reliance on imprisonment had contributed significantly to overcrowding in correctional centers.
She said the focus of non-custodial measures should be on rehabilitating offenders and helping them become responsible members of society.
According to her, effective implementation would depend on strong institutional collaboration, adequate infrastructure and proper application of existing laws.
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