Justice Minister Urges Judges to Stop Remanding Minor Offenders with Hardened Criminals in Prisons
Justice Minister, Chief Lateef Fagbemi has urged judges to stop ordering the remand of minor offenders in prisons with hardened criminals.
Fagbemi made the call at the opening of a workshop on implementing non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines under the administration of the Criminal Justice Act of 2015.
The minister expressed concern over the countless cases where suspects arrested for minor offenses, are being locked up in prisons.
According to the minister, such minor offenders end up being initiated by hardened criminals, instead of being reformed while in orisons.
The minister also said that the remanding of minor offenders is increasing the population of Nigeria’s custodial centers nationwide.
He asked judges to strike a balance between imposing merited sentencing in cases before them and considering non-custodial alternatives.
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The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on Monday called for the implementation of non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 to reduce the country’s growing number of awaiting trial inmates.
The AGF also encouraged trial judges to stop remanding minor offenders with dangerous criminals, which he said led to them being introduced into a life of crime rather than being reformed.
He stated that the goal of non-custodial measures is to discover viable alternatives to incarceration for offenders.
The AGF, who was represented by a Director at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Leticia Ayoola-Daniel, described the sentencing as a core judicial function in criminal justice in an address he delivered at the opening session of a two-day workshop on the implementation of the Non-Custodial Measures and Sentencing Guidelines under the ACJA, 2015.
Sentencing guidelines and frameworks are best understood as means to enable the sentencing court to strike that sometimes elusive balance.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act was enacted and came into force on May 13, 2015.
