The Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo says his ministry is working on a roadmap for a comprehensive reform of the Nigeria Correctional Service system.
The Minister has also revealed how his Ministry in collaboration with the private raised over N500m for the purpose of releasing some inmates who couldn’t pay the minimal fines imposed on them, saying over 4000 of this category of inmates were eventually set free in one day to decongest the 156 Correctional Centres across the country.
Tunji-Ojo spoke while declaring open on Monday, in Abuja, the ongoing two-day international conference with the theme, “International Conference on Corrections, Justice, Peace, Security and Development: Impact, Lessons and Agenda for the Future” at the Abuja Continental Hotel (formerly Sheraton Hotel). The international conference is being sponsored by the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) with the support of German NGO, Konrad Adenaur Stiftung and other donors.
According to the Minister, it has become imperative for the nation’s correctional system to completely turn around and change its orientation for better to reflect the current trends in correctional systems in different parts of the world.
He expressed regret that inspite of the enactment of the Nigeria Correctional Service Act since 2019, virtually nothing has changed in the Nigerian prison system in the past five years.
He commended PRAWA under the leadership of its Executive Director, Dr Uju Agomoh.
Addressing the audience at the conference, including about 200 participants from Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Togo, South Sudan, Cameroon and Nigeria, Tunji-Ojo said, “The essence of justice in every country is to build the bridge between the weak and the strong. If there’s no buffer between the weakest and the strongest, then the essence of governance is wasted.
“So, for us as a country, we must challenge ourselves. PRAWA has done a lot. At the moment, I think there’s a lot you’re leading together in the areas of reforms. Just as we have said, we’ve had the Correctional Service Act since 2019. It’s been five years and for me, I’ve not seen any change. That is the truth. The Nigeria Correctional Service, even in terms of re-orientation of our inmates, it’s still the same as it was five years ago.
“We have taken a decision and Dr Uju Agomoh is the secretary. We are coming up with a roadmap to make sure there’s a thorough reform. We just need to change things once and for all.”
On the efforts by government to decongest the country’s 156 Correctional Centres, the Minister disclosed that he had to release about 4000 inmates within a day.
“I tell you there’s nobody that’ll have N10,000 and decide to stay in jail. So, for that, it means the economic status has become a barrier to justice. This is unacceptable in a country like ours and what did we do? We reached out to the private sector and we were able to raise over N500million. And we were able to get over 4000 inmates out of jail in one day,” he said.
He added that he, along with the nation’s private sector raised about N500million with which they paid off the fines imposed on the 4000 inmates, many of whom he said had remained in prison due to their inability to pay fines as little as N5000.
The Minister also pledged his Ministry’s continued collaboration with PRAWA and other development partners to “make our Correctional Centres a place of hope; not a place of hopelessness. We’ll make our Correctional Centres a place where you can dream, a place where you can reveal, and a place where you can challenge yourself and become a better person, add more value to Nigeria, add more value to yourself.
“When people go to Correctional Centres abroad, they come back to the society and achieve greatness. We’ve seen that happen. If it happens there, it will happen here. So, I want to challenge you. We’re on a journey, it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. This is the truth. Reform anywhere in the world is never a sprint, it’s a marathon.”
Tunji-Ojo however challenged PRAWA and other participants at the conference to continue to collaborate with the Nigerian government, adding, “Let’s make sure equity, fairness, justice become the tenets of our democracy; they become the tenets and motivation for democratic experience.
“With this, we’ll not just come out in the comity of nations to see Nigeria come out as the biggest black nation on earth, but as a nation that respects human rights, a country that respects citizenship integrity and a country that believes in hope even in a hopeless situation.”
Earlier, in his welcome address to the conference, PRAWA Chairman, Chris Enenya, commended the Minister and development partners.
Enenya said he’s looking forward to the implementation of all reforms being worked on.
NCS Controller General, in his own remarks, commended PRAWA for bridging the gap between government, communities and individual partners.
He added that the theme of the conference aptly captured the various challenges, saying that with PRAWA’s support “we are poised to advance justice and rehabilitation system.”
Also speaking at the conference, representative of UNODC lamented that the current prison system neglected specific needs of female inmates.
It commended PRAWA for understanding the important project by prioritizing the cause of female inmates in Nigeria’s correctional system and improving their situation.
The former Minister of Internal Affairs and former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Abdulrahman Danbazzau, while also speaking at the opening of the international conference, stressed that justice should be the focus of the participants.
He said that as a former minister, he’s aware of the challenges in correctional justice.
“Awaiting trial victims languish in prison for so many years and sometimes they forget the offence that took them there. There’s also justice for the victim, which we tend to forget. We don’t talk about the victims for restoration,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address at the conference, President of California State University, Sacramento, United States, Dr Luke Wood, stressed that education not only has the power to do things.
Luke also described education as the cornerstone of every society and shapes the way human beings think.
Drawing from his own growing up years’ experience, he said as PRAWA celebrates its 30 years anniversary, “we have to look ahead to ensure crime reduction.”
He added that humanity can come together to build a world where there’s justice, saying the power of one person can change system and life trajectories.
Luke stated that certain initiatives by his university such as Project Rebound, the Tops Project and dialogue can effectively reduce crime.
Resident Representative of
Konrad-Adenaur-Stiftung Nigeria, Marija Peran, in her speech on the occasion, said the goal of her organization is to achieve rule of law and justice for everyone.
She said the German NGO had been supporting various organizations in Nigeria in the past 20 years to achieve this goal.
Peran noted that effective criminal justice is very important for every society, adding, “we must strive to eliminate corruption.”
Acknowledging the remarkable work of PRAWA, she noted that the rehabilitation of victims and survivors are vital for every society.
Peran said PRAWA’s initiatives had, in the past 30 years, influenced policy reforms in Africa, Europe, USA and Nigeria.
In her key reflections at the conference, PRAWA Executive Director, Dr Uju Agomoh, disclosed that the organization had implemented over 72 projects in Nigeria, Kenya, Burundi and others, while it has also carried out over 1000 prison monitoring visits.
Speaking on the negative effects of stigmatization on ex-inmates, Agomoh said, “We have to prevent people from getting to prison.”
The conference also held technical sessions on Criminal Justice Administration – Challenges, Lessons Learnt and Future, Sentencing and Non-Custodial Measures – Challenges and Prospects and Focus on Children and Youth.
Concurrent sessions were also held on Training for Legal and Health Professionals on Instanbul Protocol on Torture Documentation and Strategy Planning on Paralegal Training Programme National Roll-Out.
The conference continues on Wednesday with more technical sessions.
