The role of citizens in the reformation and rehabilitation of offenders

I write to make a case for the role of citizens in the reformation and rehabilitation of offenders in Nigeria. Just like security is everybody’s business, and not for the security agencies alone; the task of reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of offenders lies in everybody’s hands and not the Nigerian Correctional Service only. Offenders are persons […]

I write to make a case for the role of citizens in the reformation and rehabilitation of offenders in Nigeria. Just like security is everybody’s business, and not for the security agencies alone; the task of reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of offenders lies in everybody’s hands and not the Nigerian Correctional Service only.

Offenders are persons who have, by omission or commission, entwined themselves in the cobweb of the law, and are legally interned in a custodial centre or in the alternative, serving non-custodial sanctions such as community service, probation, suspended sentences, parole etc. Offenders are usually interned in custodial or correctional centres in order to undergo positive behaviour modification and to be equipped with vocational and survival skills to lead crime-free cum functional lives after release from custody.

It is true that the function of reforming, rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders in Nigeria is statutorily the duty of the Nigerian Correctional Service; however, well-meaning individuals, groups, and communities have a stake in the process of getting offenders sufficiently reformed and resettled. Research has shown that in correctional systems where citizens support offenders’ reformation in custody, they turn out better transformed, with recidivism at its lowest.

One might want to know the specific responsibilities of the citizens and various communities in promoting the reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of offenders. One of such ways is to pay visits to offenders who are in custody as it gives them a sense of belonging. Again, the citizens should refrain from stigmatizing and discriminating against ex-offenders who have served their terms of imprisonment and have returned back to the society. 

Above all, the citizens and communities should support the efforts of the Nigerian Correctional Service by providing information to the relevant security authorities on any act or machination that may jeopardize the peace and serenity of our correctional facilities. Recent events have shown that there is a correlation between the security of our correctional centres and the tranquility of the general society. Hence, it behoves on all of us to support the correctional service and ensure that offenders are secured in a safe and humane environment so as to be properly reformed, rehabilitated and reintegrated back to the society.

Kelvin Abuchi Ugwuoke, a psychologist and criminologist, writes from Abuja