Africa Press-Nigeria:
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has explained why the Federal Government was working to actualise the proposal for decentralisation of the management of correctional centres in the country.
Malami said the FG believes where states share the management of correctional centres, it would ensure efficiency and reduce the congestion currently being experienced.
He spoke on Thursday at the opening event for the national summit on correctional reforms in Nigeria.
“In a recent event with the states heads of courts and Attorneys-General, I had mentioned that in order to put in place enduring measures for effective management of correctional centres for the reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders back to the society, the decentralisation of correctional service in the country has been proposed.
“This will allow states to effectively participate through the setting up of their own correctional centres to manage offenders who commit state offences while the Federal Government will continue to manage offenders who commit federal offences.
“These are all measures expected to address the problem of congestion in the Correctional Centres as witnessed presently.
“Another milestone in the national strategy towards the Decongestion and Reformation of Correctional Centres nationwide is the on-going collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Justice, Relevant Justice stakeholders and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with focus on implementing Amnesty and Decongestion for Juveniles deprived of their liberty during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.”
Malami also spoke of other prison decongestion measures adopted by the FG that have yielded appreciable outcome.
