Why Judges Should Stop Remanding Minor Offenders With Hardened Criminals – AGF

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 advocated for the implementation of non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines outlined in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

Fagbemi emphasized that adopting such measures would address the escalating number of awaiting trial inmates and prevent minor offenders from becoming more hardened instead of reformed.

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According to the Nigerian Correctional Service website on Monday, there were 80,461 inmates across 253 custodial centers, with approximately 70% awaiting trial and only about 30% convicted. This disparity has raised concerns among various stakeholders, including lawyers and human rights activists.

Fagbemi made these remarks during a two-day workshop focused on the ‘Implementation of Non-custodial Measure and Sentencing Guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015’ held in Abuja on Monday. Represented by Mrs. Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, the Director of the Administration of Criminal Justice and Reforms Department/Correctional Unit of the ministry, Fagbemi urged trial judges to avoid remanding minor offenders with dangerous criminals, asserting that this practice could lead them to become further entrenched in criminal behavior rather than being reformed.

He highlighted that the goal of non-custodial measures is to explore viable alternatives to the incarceration of offenders, contributing to the reduction of correctional facilities in alignment with section 470(2)(c) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

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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.

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