Law Commission faults amendment to prison system

The Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRF) on Tuesday faulted the introduction of correctional or community service in the nation’s prison system, saying that the new measures will not make any meaningful impact in the administration of justice.

The Commission canvassed this position at the commencement of a two-day public hearing organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Interior on eight prison reform related bills.

The bills are the bill for an Act to establish a correction, reformation and integration center to provide support services for prisoners in the area of reformation, reintegration and youthful offender programming, and the bill for an Act to regulate community service for offenders in certain cases, to perform community service in lieu of imprisonment and provide for other related matters.

Others include the bill for an Act to repeal the Prisons Act, 2004 and re-enact the Nigerian Prisons and Correctional Service to make comprehensive provisions for the administration of prisons in Nigeria, the bill for an
Act to make comprehensive provisions for the administration of prisons in Nigeria and the bill for an Act to establish maximum special security prisons for persons accused or convicted of terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping and other crimes.

Making the declaration yesterday, Director of Public Law of the Commission, Mr. Mike Ezeobi, said the proposal to reform the nation’s prisons by amending the existing Acts would put pressure on the federal government to build more prisons which would gulp huge public funds.

He stated that the proposal to establish a correction, reformation and integration center to provide support services to the nation’s prisons is a duplication of the provisions of an existing law.

According to him, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 has elaborate provisions for correctional or community service in the nation’s prison system and the prison reform bills would be a duplication.

He also said that the Act if adopted in all the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would quicken the dispensation of justice at the nation’s law courts.

Henry Omunu, Abuja