2023, Vol. 3, Issue 1, Part A
An examination of the statutory and institutional frameworks for implementing non-custodial measures in Nigeria’s criminal justice administration
Author(s): Osaretin George Izevbuwa, Rita Abhavan Ngwoke and Ibiene P Mbano
Abstract: The Nigeria Correctional Service Act was enacted in 2019. Before its enactment, one of the major problems confronting the prisons was overcrowding, which was against the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures. In compliance with the U.N. measures, the Nigerian government enacted the Nigeria Correctional Service Act 2019, and the Act established statutory non-custodial sentencing provisions within its system under the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws. This paper examined the Nigerian legal and institutional framework for implementing non-custodial measures in Nigeria. The paper uses doctrinal legal research to examine Nigeria's total amplitude of non-custodial measures. The paper also adopted the comparative approach by critically examining the positions available in Kenya and Canada. On the Non-custodian measures and concluded that Nigeria must follow the tradition present in these countries for best international practices. We observed that despite the robust non-custodial measures contained in the provision of the Nigerian correctional service Act and the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws, the incidence of overcrowding has not significantly reduced in Nigerian correctional centres. We found that this failure is a result of the need for a more institutional framework to implement the laudable provision of these two pieces of legislation. We also observed that overcrowding in the Correctional Centres is not only caused by the sentenced convicts but primarily those awaiting trial. Therefore, a wholesome implementation of the non-custodial provisions of the Acts, in collaboration with the institutional and diversionary protocols obtainable in Kenya and Canada, should be adopted to reduce the incidence of overcrowding in our correctional centres.
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How to cite this article:
Osaretin George Izevbuwa, Rita Abhavan Ngwoke, Ibiene P Mbano. An examination of the statutory and institutional frameworks for implementing non-custodial measures in Nigeria’s criminal justice administration. Int J Criminal Common Statutory Law 2023;3(1):01-11.