Why judges should stop remanding minor offenders with hardened criminals – AGF

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has called for the implementation of non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. This, he said, would reduce the growing number of awaiting trial inmates and incidences of minor offenders becoming hardened rather than reformed. […]

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has called for the implementation of non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

This, he said, would reduce the growing number of awaiting trial inmates and incidences of minor offenders becoming hardened rather than reformed.

As of Monday, the website of the Nigerian Correctional Service indicated that there were 80,461 inmates across the 253 custodial centres. Out of this population, about 70 per cent are awaiting trial, while only about 30 per cent have been convicted. This development has continued to generate concerns among many Nigerians, especially lawyers and human rights activists.

Meanwhile, Fagbemi said this while speaking at a two-day workshop on the ‘Implementation of Non-custodial Measure and Sentencing Guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015’ on Monday in Abuja.

Represented by Mrs Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, the Director of Administration of Criminal Justice and Reforms Department/Correctional Unit of the ministry, Fagbemi called on trial judges not to keep remanding minor offenders with dangerous criminals, a development he said led to them being introduced to crime rather than being reformed.

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He stated that the goal of non-custodial measures was to discover viable alternatives to incarceration of offenders, noting that the use of non-custodial measures had facilitated reduction in correctional facilities to the barest minimum in line with section 470(2)(c) of the Administration of Criminal Justice.

He stated, “The guidelines provide appropriate standards and measures for the sentencing process in offence against the State, Person, Public order for the purpose of uniformity and fairness in sentencing which will further strengthen the criminal procedure system.

“The success of any system of criminal justice administration depends on the level of effective implementation of the guidelines by the agencies involved. It is my belief that this workshop would provide a timely opportunity for us to reflect on recent developments, so that we can look at what might lie ahead of us in the context of sentencing in our courts.

“We have seen countless cases where defendants are arrested for minor offences and locked up in prisons adding to the population of awaiting trial inmates. These offenders remanded with hardened criminals end up being initiated into a life of crime instead of being reformed.”

The workshop was designed to share knowledge on the effective use of instruments that would lead to a decrease in arbitrary punishments, uniformity in punishments, and utilisation of alternatives to imprisonment to decrease the population of awaiting trial inmates.

Fagbemi added, “In discharging that function, the sentencing judge must strive to achieve the right balance between imposing a merited sentence in the case at hand, while maintaining a broad level of consistency with other cases so that sentencing at a systematic level is fair.

“The Administration of Criminal Justice Act was enacted and came into force on May 13, 2015, the Act placed a premium on non-custodial sentences.

“In line with ACJA 2015, the Federal Government has set out guidelines to stipulate the requirements and procedure for imposing non-custodial sentencing for the purpose of preventing abuse and ensuring reasonable uniformity and fairness in the imposition of sentences.”

He said the order to facilitate the application and effective use of the non-custodial sentencing, the legal and regulatory framework must be effectively implemented.

He added, “The purpose of non-custodial measures is to find effective alternatives to imprisonment for offenders and this is in accordance with the current global shift in punishing convicts with alternatives to prison terms.

“The aim of the trend is to give the judges and magistrates much latitude and discretion to award befitting and purposeful punishment to convicts aside the punishment suggested by the statute creating the offence.

“Since the coming into effect of the Practice Direction in 2020, the sentencing landscape has continued to develop rapidly and extensively.”

The minister hoped that the non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines would be more operational and effectively implemented in order to achieve the objectives and purposes of the reforms in the criminal sector.

“The Federal Ministry of Justice as the leading stakeholder in the justice administration in Nigeria will continue to develop appropriate frameworks and measures to overcome the unique challenges in the criminal justice sector and strengthen the application of law to align with International best practices,” he added.