Prison congestion: Courts should exploit non-custodial sentencing.
In a bid to decongest prisons in the country, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Inumidun Akande, has said there is the need to explore the possibility of using non-custodial sentencing.
Akande said this during an event organised by Citizens United For The Rehabilitation of Errants.
The programme which was titled Round Table on Non-Custodial Sentencing, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Restorative Justice Practices was held at the University of Lagos.
Akande, who was represented by the Chief registrar of the state, Ayo Emmanuel, said non-custodial sentencing was necessary because prison terms had not proven to be successful in rehabilitating offenders in the country.
She said, “My experience on the bench has taught me that custodial sentencing or serving terms of imprisonment has not proven to be successful in rehabilitating offenders especially in Nigeria due largely to inadequate facilities available at prisons and due to the attitude of the average Nigerian towards ex-convicts.”
Akande maintained that due to the large number of awaiting trial persons and overstretched facilities in prisons all over the country, there was an urgent need to explore other forms of punishment apart from incarceration.
She said, “Part of the non-custodial sentencing I want to implore the roundtable to examine include verbal sanction such as admonition, reprimand and warning; conditional discharge, status penalties, economic sanctions and monetary penalties such as fines, confiscation or an expropriation order, restitution to the victim or compensation order.
“House arrest, a community service order, suspended or deferred sentence, probation or judicial supervision and any other mode of non-institutional treatment.”
Similarly, the former Director Academics, Nigerian Law School,Kevin Nwosu, urged government to exploit the option of state pardon.
Akande said this during an event organised by Citizens United For The Rehabilitation of Errants.
The programme which was titled Round Table on Non-Custodial Sentencing, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Restorative Justice Practices was held at the University of Lagos.
Akande, who was represented by the Chief registrar of the state, Ayo Emmanuel, said non-custodial sentencing was necessary because prison terms had not proven to be successful in rehabilitating offenders in the country.
She said, “My experience on the bench has taught me that custodial sentencing or serving terms of imprisonment has not proven to be successful in rehabilitating offenders especially in Nigeria due largely to inadequate facilities available at prisons and due to the attitude of the average Nigerian towards ex-convicts.”
Akande maintained that due to the large number of awaiting trial persons and overstretched facilities in prisons all over the country, there was an urgent need to explore other forms of punishment apart from incarceration.
She said, “Part of the non-custodial sentencing I want to implore the roundtable to examine include verbal sanction such as admonition, reprimand and warning; conditional discharge, status penalties, economic sanctions and monetary penalties such as fines, confiscation or an expropriation order, restitution to the victim or compensation order.
“House arrest, a community service order, suspended or deferred sentence, probation or judicial supervision and any other mode of non-institutional treatment.”
Similarly, the former Director Academics, Nigerian Law School,Kevin Nwosu, urged government to exploit the option of state pardon.
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