Stakeholders in the criminal justice system in Anambra State have called for stronger civil society advocacy, increased funding and institutional reforms to ensure the effective implementation of non-custodial measures in the state.
The stakeholders made the call in Awka at a one-day Civil Society Stakeholders’ Meeting on Non-Custodial Measures, organised by the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), in partnership with the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), with support from the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme under its Advancing the Implementation of Non-Custodial Solutions (AI-NCS) Project.
The meeting focused on strengthening the implementation of alternatives to imprisonment, the rehabilitation and reintegration of released inmates, as well as measures to decongest correctional centres and promote a more humane, effective and efficient justice system.
Participants also advocated increased government funding, legal and institutional reforms, improved capacity of correctional officers and stronger collaboration among civil society organisations, the judiciary, legal practitioners, the media and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the meeting, PRAWA Executive Director, Dr Uju Agomoh, said the engagement was aimed at advancing community corrections in Anambra, with particular emphasis on aggressive enlightenment and increased use of probation, suspended sentences, community service and parole.
Agomoh said there was a need to strengthen the capacity of non-custodial correctional officers to effectively supervise offenders and coordinate community-based support systems to ensure the successful implementation of non-custodial measures.
She also emphasised the importance of building sustainable frameworks around development initiatives, urging stakeholders to identify areas aligned with their passion and expertise and develop them into sustainable interventions.
The PRAWA executive director said the organisation’s interventions were built around five broad strategies: research and advocacy; training and capacity building; human rights monitoring and accountability; rehabilitation, care and support services; and community justice programmes.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of RoLAC, Dr Josephine Onah, represented by the State Associate Project Officer, James Osubor, commended PRAWA for its continued partnership and reaffirmed RoLAC’s commitment to supporting justice sector reforms.
Onah stressed the importance of sustained engagement with the media and other critical stakeholders to advocate increased funding for non-custodial measures, describing adequate funding as essential to institutionalising the system within the broader justice sector reform framework.
Also speaking, the Assistant Controller of Corrections in charge of the Non-Custodial Unit of the Anambra Command, Phibina Nneka Ejiofor, explained that non-custodial measures provide alternatives to imprisonment for appropriate categories of offenders.
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She said effective use of such measures would help decongest correctional centres while preventing people convicted of minor offences from being unnecessarily exposed to hardened criminals in custodial environments.
According to her, non-custodial measures include probation, parole, community service or unpaid labour, restorative justice and other alternatives ordered by competent courts.
“All these are targeted at decongesting custodial centres, promoting rehabilitation and providing a more cost-effective approach to justice administration,” she said.
Ejiofor, however, identified limited public and judicial awareness, inadequate legal and institutional frameworks, and gaps in capacity building as some of the major challenges hindering the effective implementation of non-custodial measures in the state.
The meeting, which attracted representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the media and academia, also examined relevant provisions of Sections 12 and 44 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019.
Participants further deliberated on the proposed passage and operationalisation of the Anambra State Correctional Service Bill and other measures aimed at strengthening the state’s non-custodial justice framework.
The stakeholders agreed that sustained advocacy, adequate funding, institutional support and greater public awareness would be critical to making non-custodial measures a functional component of criminal justice administration in Anambra State.
