AN EVALUATION OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ADDRESSING THE DECONGESTION OF CUSTODY CENTRES IN NIGERIA

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AN EVALUATION OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ADDRESSING THE DECONGESTION OF CUSTODY CENTRES IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

It has been highlighted in this long essay that the Criminal Justice System (CJS) consisting of the police, judiciary, prosecutors, correctional services and other law enforcement agencies seems not to be working effectively in Nigeria. Despite the assurances and insinuations from different stakeholders that it is working to reduce crime, the system is in fact slowly grinding to a halt, with staff shortages, lack of accountability, corruption and mal-administration.Apparently, the failure of Nigeria in criminal justice administration has manifested itself in the congestion of correctional centres as well as the poor correction of prison inmates. It has been stated that as at 2021, the number of inmates at the Nigerian correctional centres was 65 292 including pre-trial detainees (PTD). The categories of PTD constitutes

73.7 percent of the total prison population, as 65 292, female prisoners constitute 1.7 percent of the inmates, Juveniles or minors constitute 1.7 percent of the inmates, while foreign inmates constitute 0.3 percent of the inmates out of the official prison capacity of 50 153.  This long essay was aimed at an analyzing the legal framework addressing the decongestion of detention centres in Nigeria. The objectives as stated include;to determine the factors that necessitates prison congestion in Nigeria, to analyze the legal frameworks that regulates the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria, and to ascertain the effectiveness these frameworks in the decongestion of correctional and other detention centres in Nigeria. The Nigeria Correctional Services for example, is face with major challenge of overcrowding as more than two-thirds of its inmates are awaiting-trial detainees that ultimately stay in correctional centres for long periods of time without their status being determined. Proper funding of the authorities concerned as well as the reliance on non-custodial methods of punishment have been advised and proposed in this research work. This will help strongly in the decongestion of detention centres in Nigeria.

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CHAPTER ONE          INTRODUCTION

 

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The Criminal Justice System (CJS) consisting of the police, judiciary, prosecutors, correctional services and other law enforcement agencies seems not to be working effectively in Nigeria. Despite the assurances and insinuations from different stakeholders that it is working to reduce crime, the system is in fact slowly grinding to a halt, with staff shortages, lack of accountability, corruption and maladministration.

The Nigeria pre-colonial CJS for instance differs both substantially and procedurally from contemporary criminal justice system in Nigeria. While it cannot be conveniently said that there was no crime in the traditional society, the justice system procedure involves almost all members of the society.[1] It is an indisputable fact that very many, if not most, of all the criminal offences and civil wrongs recognized by our laws of today, were also offences known to and administered by our ancestors long before the advent of the Europeans.

Modern CJS came up along with a series of changes, both in form and content. Such changes include alienation, deprivation, subjugation, exploitation and domination of the audience by members of the enforcing agencies. The changes which many individuals hoped for after independence has remained an illusion[2] . The long essay will equally suggest ways of reforming the criminal justice system to make it more efficient in line with global best practice, which is the attainment of human rights protection and sustainability.

The task of CJS is carried out through the means of detecting, apprehending, prosecuting, adjudicating, and sanctioning those members of the society who violate its established laws. The primary duty of the CJS is to dispense justice in accordance with the provisions of the law. The CJS is concerned about the determination of the guilt or innocence of a suspect, and the allocation of punishment that is fair and proportional to the convict‟s offence.[3] Apparently, the failure of Nigeria in criminal justice administration has led to the congestion of detention centres and has also manifested itself in poor correction and rehabilitation of prison inmates.[4]

The Nigerian prisons have sent signal to the fact that the prisons are incapable of yielding the purpose of its creation, that is, to reform the inmates in order for them to be better citizens of the state. In addition to the aforementioned, the numbers of inmates in a particular prison has no doubt overstretched the facilities making the place a hell for the inmates resulting to the jail breaks. that are being witnessed from time to time in Nigeria, like what was witness just recently in Edo State and Imo. In an attempt to address the aforementioned problems in Nigeria justice system, successive governments (military and civilian) have set up panel of inquiries, committees and have initiated reform programs designed to improve the general wellbeing of inmates and detainees, and to restructure the criminal justice system for efficient service delivery. Some of the reforms are the enactments of legislations like the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Act, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) as well as the Prison Reforms.

This study is therefore, designed to critically assess the administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria and the impacts of the various legal mechanisms in the decongestion of detention centres in Nigeria.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Incontrovertibly, everybody deserves justice. Justice is an ideal that must serve the interest of the defendant, the victim as well as the society whose laws have been breached. Incidentally, the situation has become so distorted that the CJS has fallen short of its mandate to protect the rights and wellbeing of individuals in their desire to achieving justice and fairness whenever they are confronted with the issues of right violations.

Most of the detention centres in Nigeria were not built with certain category of persons in mind, for example, inn most of the detention centres, one can find the mixture of both youthful and adult offenders. This has left the authorities with bundle of problems like molestation of the youthful offenders, extra judicial killings, and rape. It has been discovered that notwithstanding the various interventions by those in authorities to ensure the decongestion of the various detention centres in Nigeria, the rate of population and overcrowding at the detention centres tend to be increasing at an alarming rate. As at 2021, the number of inmates at the Nigerian correctional centres was 65 292 including pre-trial detainees (PTD).The categories of PTD constitutes 73.7 percent of the total prison population, as 65 292, female prisoners constitute 1.7 percent of the inmates, Juveniles or minors constitute 1.7 percent of the inmates, while foreign inmates constitute 0.3 percent of the inmates  out of the official prison capacity of 50 153.[5]   In line with the problems highlighted in this research, the following research questions have been raised;

  1. What are the factors that necessitates prison congestion in Nigeria?
  2. What are the legal frameworks that regulates the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria?
  3. How effective are these frameworks in the decongestion of correctional and other detention centres in Nigeria?

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim and objective of this research work is an analysis of the legal framework addressing the decongestion of detention centres in Nigeria

The objectives of this study are to;

  1. Determine the factors that necessitates prison congestion in Nigeria.
  2. Analyze the legal frameworks that regulates the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria.
  3. Ascertain the effectiveness these frameworks in the decongestion of correctional and other detention centres in Nigeria.

           

1.4 SCOPE AND LIMITATION

The scope of this work is limited to the Nigeria CJS and the congestion problems which is encountered at the various detention centres in Nigeria. The study is limited to measurable variables like rigidity of the penal law, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Laws and the delay in the disposal of cases.

Similarly, the scope of this study will cover extensively the various innovations introduced by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, that are desired for the smooth administration of CJS

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research work will be beneficial to students of law and other social science field in understanding the roles played by the government and other stakeholders in the enactment of legislations for the decongestion of correctional centres in Nigeria. This research will also be beneficial to lawyers, administrators, teachers of law and law makers to be able to appreciate the level of growth in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. This research work will be beneficial to future researchers on this subject as its recommendations can be harnessed to enhance future development of the law.

1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

There are two types of research methodology namely; doctrinal and non-doctrinal methods of research. Doctrinal means the collection of information from textbooks, journals, articles and other written information by authors and scholars of the subject, while non-doctrinal means of data collection involves the collection of data through methods taken from other disciplines to generate empirical data that answers research questions. Non doctrinal approach allows the researcher to conduct research that analyses the law from the perspective of other scientific discipline. For the sake of this research work, the method to be adopted is the doctrinal methodology. In this, research information will be collected through reading of existing documents such as: textbooks, government publications, journals and legislations

1.7 LITERATURE REVIEW

Quite a number of authors and scholars both in the legal profession and public service have written extensively on the issue of the congestion of prisons, problems and prospects. Some remarkable articles and publications of these authors and scholars will be reviewed in the course of this research.

Williams in her book[6] express that in Britain, of those convicted of serious crimes, 80 percent are male, and women make up only about 5 percent of the prison population, suggesting that their offences tend to be less serious. She went further to stated that Group Four, one of the largest security firms began to operate the first private prison known as the World Remand Prison. According to her in her book, eleven prisons are now privately owned. This to her is to meet up with the challenges of prison congestion.

It is humbly submitted that this view is novel to the Nigerian justice system. This research work will intend to suggest the inclusion of communities, corporations as well as private individuals in the smooth dispensation of criminal justice in Nigeria.

Mike Hough, Rob Allen and Enver Solomon in their book[7]   stated that tackling prison overcrowding is a response for prisons and sentencing set out in Lord Patrick Carter‟s review of prisons published in 2007. It was further stated that the Carter Review proposed the construction of vast „Titan‟ prisons to deal with the immediate problem of prison overcrowding and the establishment of a sentencing commission as a mechanism for keeping judicial demand for prison places in line. It went further to state that that States in the US which have adopted these sentencing guidelines have been successful in avoiding prison overcrowding.[8]

It is humbly submitted that the authors have failed to consider other non-custodial sentencing. This research will intend to analyze the various legal reforms and other non-custodial sentencing methods.

Furthermore, Roberts in her book[9] stated that there is no evidence that nastier prisons reduce re-offending rates. According to her, one reason for re-offending like the causes of offending more generally lies outside the CJS. It was posited further that the purpose of incarceration of people is to stop them from offending and yet, most prisoners re-offend at some point after they leave prison, as a result many will be re-admitted to custody.

It is submitted that the learned author did not capture the causes of re-offending by prisoners who have earlier been released after serving their term. This work is intended to consider the factors that prompts prisoners to re-offend after been released from incarceration.

Junger-Tas in his work[10] explained the need for alternative sentencing methods in order to reduce overcrowding of prisons. Firstly, he suggested the introduction of electronic devices known as Electronic Monitoring (EM) which is a typical American product and popular in the United States. It was stated that the EM would reduce recidivism and enhance the rehabilitation of offenders. The other alternative method of sentencing posited by the author is the idea of house arrest.[11] This he said would decongest the prisons.

It is humbly submitted that the ideas of the author are noble ones however, this work will intend to examine the situations of the correctional services as well as the house arrest system in Nigeria and, how technology can be deployed in line with various frameworks and reforms that have been introduced by the applicable legal regimes

Ibrahim[12] stated that the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) makes provisions for persons in detention centres to be brought to court within a period of 24 hours where there is a court of competent jurisdiction within a radius of 40 kilometers  and, in any other case, 48 hours or any longer period depending on the circumstance that the court may consider reasonable. Ibrahim,13went further to state that one of the reasons for the congestion of Nigerian prisons is the delay in administration of the Nigerian CJS.

According to Ibrahim,14 the ACJA provides for the hearing of a case for a period not exceeding 14 days after the remand of the defendant, after which the courts are precluded from granting further remand orders after the expiration of 14 days except the prosecution can show good reasons to the court why such an extension is necessary. With all sense of humility to the learned scholar, the enactment of the ACJA has not in any way solved the problem of decongestion as envisaged. This research work intends to look at the other means law enforcement agents have devised in other to circumvent the law.

Ukwayi and Okpa in their article[13] stated that the Nigeria law stipulates that, when an accused person is arrested, he or she should be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction within 24 hours. According to them,[14] the law did not make provision for “holding charges”. They went further to posit that the problem arises from the inadequacy of the police. The Police cannot cope with the 24 hours constitutional requirement within which they were supposed to arraign a suspect in court. They therefore rush to the court and secure an order of remand against a defendant pending when they are able to conclude their investigation. Holding charge is therefore being applied to cover up the inadequacies of the police and those vested with the powers of investigating crimes. The negative consequences of these failure and inadequacies is the reason behind the high numbers of inmates in correctional facilities in Nigeria. It is humbly stated and submitted that the concept of “holding charge” is not the only reason for the congestion of prisons in Nigeria.

According to Olonisakin, Ogunleye and Adebayo in their article[15] stated that the police is mandated to initiate the process of a criminal proceedings, the courts on its part are there to ensure that all due processes are in the dispensation of justice.

The court‟s role is to establish without doubt, the guilt or innocence of individuals brought before her and to ensure that adequate and appropriate punishments are meted out as applicable. In other words, an effective judicial system ensures that justice is upheld in all legal proceedings.

With due respect to the authors, the authors have failed to consider other detention or holding facilities other than the prisons where persons accused of committing offences are detained while awaiting trials. Various security outfits like the DSS, the Immigration Services, the EFCC, the ICPC have their various detention facilities that have failed to comply with international best practice in the treatment of detainees or inmates. The authors have also failed to consider non-custodial sentences as well as the roles of human rights groups in the access to justice and in the decongestion of detention facilities in Nigeria.

Furthermore, Ajah in his article[16] posited that, the Nigerian prison system was established in accordance with three forms of penal legislation which operates alongside each other in the country. The Penal Code and the accompanying CPC

2004, the Criminal Code and the accompanying Criminal Procedure Act and the Sharia penal legislations in 12 Northern States of Nigeria.

This position in all modesty does not portray the true position in recent times with the enactment of the ACJA which is applicable in the FCT and in all federal courts in Nigeria. The ACJA has abolished the CPC and the CPA which was applicable in the FCT prior to 2015.

Obioha, stated in his own article[17] that it is an understatement to allude that the Nigerian prison system is more punitive and dehumanizing than the supposed corrective assignment that it should be focused on in this present global dispensation and demands for actualization of human rights in the prisons of members countries that are signatories to the International Convention on Human Rights. Obioha stated further that like many other sectors in Nigeria, the prison system has gone through some reform processes. This owes to the fact that reformation and rehabilitation are the modern objectives in the treatment of offenders. Some of the reform programs according to Obioha are;

  1. The National Working Group on Prison Reform and Decongestion 2005
  2. The Inter-Ministerial Summit on the State of Remand Inmates in Nigeria‟s Prisons 2005.
  3. Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation 2006.

In all modesty and giving the fact that this article was written in the year 2011, the author did not capture the reform brought about by the ACJA 2015 as well as the Correctional Service Act which was enacted in the year 2019. This work will intend to examine the various reforms brought about by the above laws in the advancement of justice and in the decongestion of prisons and other correctional centres in Nigeria.

1.8 SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTERS

This research work is divided into five (5) chapters.

Chapter one contains the introduction, the background of the study, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, scope and limitation, significant of the study, research methodology and the synopsis of the chapters.

Chapter two contains the conceptual framework, introduction, definition of key terms, criminal justice system, detention centres, decongestion of correctional centres, non- custodial sentences and conclusion.

Chapter three contains the legal and institutional framework on decongestion of detention centres in Nigeria, introduction, legal framework, which comprised of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the criminal procedure act and the criminal procedure code, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, the Correction Service Act 2019, institutional framework which comprise of the Nigeria Police, the courts, the Nigeria correctional service and conclusion.

Chapter four contains issues and prospects, introduction, congestion in detention centres, causes of congestion of in detention centres, case flow management, inadequate courtrooms, infrastructures and poor working conditions, delay caused by judges, delay caused by prosecuting counsels, delay caused by legal practitioners, delay arising from the conducts of prison authorities, sponsorship of investigation, frequent transfer of officers, custodial and non-custodial sentences, fines -parole-monetary compensation-community services-police divesting and conclusion.

Chapter five contains, summary of findings, recommendations, contribution to knowledge and conclusion.

[1] Kolo B G. „Public Perception of the Police as an Element in the Criminal Justice System‟ [2002] (5) (2)The Nigerian Social Scientist 15.

[2] Eme I O and Chukwuma, I C and Okeke, M „The Police and Criminal Justice System in Africa: Agenda for Reform‟ [2009] (4) (1)INJODEMAR, 167

[3] Alemika E.E.O. „Penal Policy: Prison conditions and prisoners‟ rights in Nigeria. In Ben Angwe, B and C.J Dakas (ed) Reading in Human Rights[2005] . Lagos: Graphic.

[4] Ajah B.O. „Criminal Justice Administration and Panic of Prison Correction in Nigeria‟ [2018] (1) (2) Journal of Law and Judicial System 2

[5] „World Prison Brief, Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR), World Prison Brief Data. As at 17 May, 2021‟ http://www.corrections.gov.ng

[6] Williams S. K „Textbook on Criminology‟ (7th ed) (Oxford University Press 2012) 501

[7] M Hough, R Allen & E Solomon, ‘Tackling prison overcrowding: Build more prison? Sentence fewer offenders?‟ (eds) (The Policy Press 2008)

[8] Ibid, 51

[9] Roberts V. J. ‘Criminal Justice: A very short introduction’ (Oxford University Press 2015)

[10] Junger-Tas J. ‘Alternatives to prison sentences: Experiences and developments’ (Kugler Publications 1994)

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibrahim A. ‘Decongestion of Nigerian Prisons: An examination of the role of the Nigerian Police in the application of the holding-charge procedure in relation to pre-trial detainees’ [2019] African Human Rights Law Journal, 779 13 Ibid, 788 14 Ibid.

[13] J K. Ukwayi and J T Okpa, „Critical Assessment of Nigeria Criminal Justice System and the perennial problem of awaiting trial in Port Harcourt maximum prison, Rivers State‟ [2017] (16)25.Global Journal of Social Sciences.

[14] Ibid.

[15] T T Olonisakin, A J Ogunleye and S O Adebayo, „The Nigeria Justice System and its Effectiveness in Criminal Behaviour Control: A Social-Psychological Analysis‟ [2017] Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences.

[16] Ajah B O „Criminal Justice Administration and Panic of Prison Correction in Nigeria‟ [2018] (12)(1)Journal of Law and Judicial System.

[17] Obioha E E „Challenges and Reforms in the Nigerian Prisons System‟ [2011] (27) (2) (100)Journal of Social Science. 

AN EVALUATION OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ADDRESSING THE DECONGESTION OF CUSTODY CENTRES IN NIGERIA

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