Sir: Recently, the criminal justice system in Nigeria witnessed a revival. The signing into law of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA, 2015) and the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (NCoS, 2019) brought about a shift from a punitive system of criminal sanction to a humane system that emphasises reformation and behaviour modification of offenders towards making them better citizens at the long run. Examples of such sanctions include probation, parole community service, suspended sentences etc.
The non-custodial sanctions are cost effective and save tax-payers’ funds as government will save funds which should have been spent on housing, feeding and general welfare of offenders in custodial centres. Non-custodial measures such as community service, which the offender is expected to perform unpaid work that benefits the society, can help the government save funds which would have been spent on such works. Again, the offender serves his or her punishment in the community, while not truncating their employments as well as family and social ties. This kind of sanction promotes healing of the victims of the criminal offence, and carries the victim along in the correctional process of the offender.
In fact, in this new regime, the community is an important stakeholder in offenders’ management as the onus is on them to support in supervising such offenders serving terms in the community.
Interestingly, the non-custodial sanction promotes public safety as minor and first time offenders will serve sanctions in their communities instead of custodial facilities where they can be socialized into more serious criminal lifestyles. The non-custodial form of sanction will eventually prune down the security challenges being faced in our correctional facilities in such a way that it will culminate into reduction of congestion in custodial centres, a conundrum that has been fingered as the major cause of attack on our custodial facilities. Hence, the non-custodial sanction will promote restorative justice as the offender, victim, members of the community where they reside, and other significant others will be mediate to restitute the victim and promote healing, further reducing acrimonies, feud as well as vendetta and promoting public safety.
In short, the non-custodial measures are aimed not just for the punishment of offenders, but to preserve harmony in the society, reform offenders and pacify victims, thereby creating social equilibrium and public safety cum security. It is necessary that all and sundry get acquainted with the rubrics of this new penal practice. The relevant authorities including law enforcement, the courts, prosecution, and the correctional service should ensure that they inculcate this new practice in Nigerians through constant public enlightenment.
Finally, this new order should be introduced in our education curriculum so that the younger ones can get to know them from the cradle.
- Kelvin Abuchi Ugwuoke, Airport Road, Abuja.