Legal practitioners have called for comprehensive criminal justice reforms to tackle prison congestion through faster trials and a wider adoption of non-custodial measures.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, Mr Bankole Babatunde said that prison congestion could be reduced by cutting the number of awaiting -trial inmates, speeding up criminal trials and helping former inmates reintegrate into society.
He identified the large population of awaiting-trial inmates as a major cause of congestion, urging authorities to eliminate procedural delays without compromising public safety.
According to him, wider adoption of non-custodial sentences for minor offences will significantly reduce overcrowding in correctional centres.
He urged courts to impose community service, probation, fines and restorative justice instead of custodial sentences where appropriate.
Babatunde noted that the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019 already provided for non-custodial measures but required stronger nationwide implementation.
He also advocated expanded legal aid for indigent inmates, saying many remain in custody because they cannot afford legal representation.
The lawyer called for stricter enforcement of the bail provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 particularly for minor offences.
He urged the courts to grant bail on self-recognisance in deserving cases to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention.
Babatunde also recommended regular case reviews and audits of dormant case files to eliminate prolonged prosecution.
He urged authorities to consider presidential and gubernatorial prerogatives of mercy for elderly, terminally ill and low-risk inmates serving lengthy prison terms.
The lawyer emphasised rehabilitation through vocational training and reintegration programmes to reduce reoffending after release.
According to him, new correctional facilities should be modern, humane and designed within approved capacity where expansion becomes necessary.
For his part, Kenubeh Gontul called for structural legal reforms, arguing that prison congestion could not be addressed without changing criminal justice procedures.
He called for the abolition of the holding charge practice, saying it was a major cause of prolonged pretrial detention.
NAN reports that holding charge is the practice of keeping a suspect in custody through a remand order from a court that lacks jurisdiction to try the case while investigations or prosecution are still pending.
Gontul proposed statutory front-loading requirements before remand orders, including complete case files and certified assessments from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
He argued that suspects should not remain in custody where investigators were unprepared to begin prosecution.
The lawyer also advocated statutory refusal rights for correctional authorities whenever facilities exceeded their approved capacity.
He said empowering correctional heads to reject additional non-violent pretrial detainees would encourage greater reliance on non-custodial measures.
Gontul further proposed income-based day fines and automatic conversion of unpaid fines to community service instead of custodial sentences.
The legal practitioner also advocated statutory speedy trial provisions, with automatic expiration of remand warrants after 60 to 90 days without trial.
According to him, eligible detainees should be released on administrative bail once statutory timelines are exceeded.
He also called for permanent mobile courts within correctional facilities to review remand warrants, clear case backlogs and promptly discharge eligible detainees. (NAN)
