The Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), was established in 1972 by Decree No.9, which spelt out the mandate of the Service.
It was established after the abolition of Native Authority Prisons in 1968, which unified the earlier separate operations of the prisons in southern and northern parts of the country.
Ever since the unification, the Nigerian public had for decades called for reform of the prisons service, owing to obvious challenges, especially that of ineffectiveness in service delivery.
At last, this call was eventually heeded to on Aug.14, as President Muhammadu Buhari gave assent to the bill that altered the configuration of the country’s prisons’ structure.
The first striking difference in the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, is the change in name from Nigerian Prisons Service to Nigerian Correctional Service.
This new enactment lays emphasis on reformation of prison inmates than the repressive and punishment outlook associated with NPS.
The bill was first presented in the Senate in January 2008 by Sen.Victor Ndoma-Egba, in the Sixth National Assembly.
Ndoma-Egba, said review of the Act was necessary to put in place a framework for the rehabilitation and transformation of inmates and address the issue of inadequate funding of prisons.
The president had in April refused to assent to the bill after it was passed by lawmakers and sent to him, 11 years after it was first presented.
The Act made provisions for custodial service and non-custodial service.
The custodial service, will among other things, take control of persons legally interned, in safe, secure and humane conditions and provide support to facilitate the speedy disposal of cases of persons awaiting trial.
Section 12 (2) (c) provides that where an inmate sentenced to death has exhausted all legal procedures for appeal and a period of 10 years has elapsed without execution of the sentence, the chief judge may commute the sentence of death to life imprisonment.
The non-custodial service will be responsible for the administration of non-custodial measures like community service, probation, parole, restorative justice measures and such other measures as a court of competent jurisdiction may order.
Speaking on the development, Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, said the new law laid good foundation for modern prison operations in the country.
He also explained that the Act also provided that the service retained a percentage of what they generated in addition to budgetary provision to work with, in order to service delivery.
“The question of overcrowding has been addressed by the Act. The correctional service officer is to notify the authorities in the state or the Federal Capital Territory, the Attorney General, the Chief Judge, when a facility attains its full capacity.
“The essence of the law is to keep the intimates in human conditions within the carrying capacity of the prisons,” Ita-Enang said.
Stakeholders attest to the neglect of the prisons, because of the erroneous impression that the prison is a place for hardened criminals that ought to be subjected to degrading conditions.
According to a recent report by Amnesty International, more than three of every five prison inmates in Nigeria have not been convicted of any offence.
A cross section of people in separate interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), however, expressed mixed feelings in the authorities’ readiness to implement the new law to bring about the long awaited fundamental reforms of the sector.
Mr Lemmy Ughegbe, founder, Make A Difference (MAD), a non-governmental organisation, said the new law could end the decades of ugly trends associated with the old prison management.
Ughegbe explained that the Federal Government must immediately take the required steps to ensure a systemic compliance to reflect the new prison status.
He said years of infrastructure deficit were the bane of proper management of the sector, adding that the poor infrastructure had always compounded the wellbeing of inmates.
“The old order must give way fast as it reminiscences life in dungeon, where all forms of dehumanising activities are allowed.
“We want to see a prison that can convert inmates to better citizens whose skills and creativity could be mainstreamed into the country’s economy to grow our GDP.
“It should no longer be seen as a place of death, horror and despair, where diseases, abuses and wickedness reign,’’ he said.
Mr Jeff Ogbe, a human right lawyer, said the operations of the sector must be in tune with the dictates of the new enactment.
Ogbe said the old decayed prisons across the country must give way to new ultra- modern correctional centers, in line with the provisions of the new enactment.
He explained that the authorities should replicate prison designs found in developed countries, adding that nothing stopped the government from making the institution a place to widen the development of human capital.
“The facilities can take the shape of the country’s first and genuine National Sports Academy and Skill Acquisition Centre.
“This will help to grow more weightlifters, wrestlers, combat-fighters, designers, plumbers, electricians and other middle cadre human capital for the nation.
“The goods and services and even skills from these centres can be exported to the equalisation of the country’s balance of trade like it is done elsewhere,’’ Ogbe said.
Mr Ja’faru Ahmed, the Controller-General, Nigerian Prisons Service, had at a retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Interior in Lagos on July 20, 2018, corroborated Ogbe’s submission.
Ahmed had described the prison as reflection of negligence and disregard to the welfare of the prisoners.
Ahmed, however, described the new law as an end of an old era, adding that the enactment had re-positioned the service to perform its critical role in the justice system chain.
Mr Francis Enobore, the Public Relations Officer of the NPS, while reacting to the coming into force of the new Act, said it provided the legal framework to transform inmates into better and useful citizens.
Enobore explained that the law which was targeted at complete reformation of the service, remained an unprecedented gift to the country by the president.
“We are happy that the law makes for significant intervention in moulding the characters of prisoners to be responsible citizens and contribute to the country’s socio-economic development,’’ he said.
Elder Pius Akwete, a retired civil servant, said the law was long expected, adding that the authorities must ensure the provisions were implemented.
Akwete said the current state of prisons in the country left much to be desired, adding that the inmates were living in hell.
“The prisons built by the colonial administration are still standing. They are old and antiquated and this gives room for jail breaks.
“I just hope the reform will commence in earnest with the construction of befitting correctional centres,’’he said.
Mr Titus Ojile, an ex-prison staff aligned himself with views expressed by others, as according to him, it guarantees the welfare of correctional officers and inmates.
Ojile explained that the enactment was an open demonstration of Buhari’s commitment to the rule of law and human rights of citizens.
“It is important to state that this president has undoubtedly earned for himself another feather as his style of leadership remains congruent with democratic principles.
“Buhari has first earned for himself both local and global accolades as he continues to fight against corruption. I think we must appreciate these efforts geared toward making the country work again,’’ he said.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria has low incarceration rate, with a prison population of 62,260, less than one per cent of the total population.
According to the data, compared to countries with populations between 100 and 350 million, Nigeria has the lowest prison population rate per 100,000 citizens.
Stakeholders want the government to make adequate provision for upgrade of infrastructure at the correctional centres, to make them conducive for reformation of character, as envisaged by the new enactment.
By Martins Odeh-News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
