The Nigerian Correctional Service has urged judges to adopt non-custodial sentencing as part of measures to reduce congestion in correctional centres across the country.
The Public Relations Officer of the NCoS in the Federal Capital Territory, DSC Duza Adamu, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday.
Adamu said the service was carrying out massive sensitisation in the FCT on the need for courts to embrace non-custodial sentencing, especially in cases that do not require imprisonment.
According to him, the adoption of non-custodial measures would reduce the number of inmates sent to custodial centres and help ease pressure on already congested facilities.
“The non-custodial service is all about alternative to imprisonment. And so, when there are cases that do not require incarceration, we advise that those cases are better handled at the non-custodial service level,” he said.
He explained that non-custodial sentencing includes community service, probation, fines, suspended sentences, parole, plea bargaining, compensation and restitution, particularly for first-time offenders and minor cases.
Adamu said the NCoS also engages in advocacy visits to the Chief Judge of the FCT to encourage periodic visits to correctional centres for jail delivery exercises.
He said such visits allow judges to review the cases of awaiting-trial inmates and release those who have no valid reason to remain in custody.
“The Chief Judge of the FCT has been coming periodically to our centres to see how they can release those who don’t have business being in the custodial centres. This is also part of the efforts to decongest our facilities,” he said.
The NCoS spokesman added that the service is also committed to proper classification of inmates through systematic assessment of their risks, behavioural patterns and personal needs.
According to him, effective classification helps assign inmates to appropriate custody or supervision levels, promotes institutional safety, supports rehabilitation and contributes to decongestion.
He said the FCT has a Custodial Model Farm Centre in Dukpa, Gwagwalada, where inmates with short sentences, usually between one month and one year, are taken for rehabilitation and empowerment.
“At the centre, they engage in different kinds of activities, such as vocational skills, education and farm activities to empower them upon discharge,” he said.
Adamu, however, noted that full decongestion of correctional centres is beyond the control of the NCoS alone because of the daily increase in crime and the continuous admission of suspects into custody.
He said anyone arrested for crime must be dealt with according to the law, but added that the service would continue to do its best to ensure that custodial facilities are not overcrowded.
