✕ CLOSE Online Special City News Entrepreneurship Environment Factcheck Everything Woman Home Front Islamic Forum Life Xtra Property Travel & Leisure Viewpoint Vox Pop Women In Business Art and Ideas Bookshelf Labour Law Letters
Click Here To Listen To Trust Radio Live

UNODC advocates restorative justice to decongest Nigerian prisons

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called for the introduction of restorative justice into the Nigerian judicial system to curb prison…

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called for the introduction of restorative justice into the Nigerian judicial system to curb prison congestion in the country.

The coordinator of UNODC’s restorative justice project, Dr. Uju  Agboma, disclosed this at a one-day event in Lagos.

She said when the restorative justice is rightly integrated into Nigeria’s justice system, it will make help speed up trials of prison inmates.

Dr. Agboma said a lot of things are being done to curb the prisons, especially in Lagos state from being over-crowded.

“There are a lot of things that we are partaking in that is reducing the number of those who are in prisons but are yet to be convicted; 2% of the statistics of those who are in prison have not been convicted and countless of them have stayed for 5,6,7,10 years or more; it is not a good story,” she said.

According to her, the Lagos state ‘Restorative justice’ promised to support the justice system and intervene on behalf of inmates who commit fewer crimes, while also addressing the issue of over-congestion in prison yards.

The restorative justice aims at ensuring the victim, the offender and the community members get justice.

Spokesperson for the Lagos prison service, Mrs Olasanya Musiliu said the restorative justice system will be a backbone for the prison and deal with the issue of overcrowding in the prison yards.

“If the inmates of a cell are 100 and you have extra 100 to be in prison, you can’t say because of classification you will not house the others; so we are forced to mix up those who are not supposed to be there. Through the alternative justices system, majority of inmates in the prison today will be out there,” she said.

She added, “We have over 7000 inmates, 1000 are convicted and over 6000 are awaiting trials but with the restorative justice system through the alternate sentence, they will be able to carry on with their life.

George Bode, a lawyer with the Lagos state police command further said all the police divisions in Nigeria have human rights department and human rights desk to lay complains irrespective of your personality, adding that people are being attended to efficiently “whether you are a low or high citizen.”

VERIFIED: It is now possible to live in Nigeria and earn salary in US Dollars with premium domains, you can earn as much as $12,000 (₦18 Million).
Click here to start.