Legal Aid Council, NCoS Seek Reforms in Correctional Welfare System

The Coordinator of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Kaduna State, Mrs. Rabia Ibrahim Abdullahi, has called for far-reaching reforms in the Nigerian Correctional Service to improve inmates’ welfare and reintegration.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Welfare Course-1 and the Security and Welfare Agenda Conference in Kaduna, Mrs. Abdullahi said a degree-awarding institute would professionalize the welfare workforce, improve morale and align Nigeria with global best practices in correctional education.

She advocated the restructuring of the Service to reflect a distinct Welfare and Inspectorate Directorate, stressing that “custody without care is mere detention.”

According to her, a clear structural separation is needed. “A distinct Welfare Directorate will ensure that inmates’ welfare is not an afterthought. It is very important. While a robust Inspectorate will guarantee standards, accountability and humane conditions across all facilities,” she said.

Mrs. Abdullahi also called for the creation of a Criminal Repository. She said poor record management and neglect have led to justice delayed, adding that the repository will eliminate congestion of awaiting trial inmates, prevent loss of case files, ensure speedy legal aid intervention and promote data-driven decision making.

On reintegration, she pushed for the establishment of Half-Way Homes. “We advocate for the establishment of Half-Way Homes as a bridge between custody and community. These homes will provide discharged inmates with shelter, counseling, vocational support and gradual reintegration,” she stated.

Addressing the graduands, the Legal Aid Coordinator charged them on their new role. “Your role as welfare officers is to restore dignity, by giving voice to the voiceless,” she told them.

She assured that the Legal Aid Council Kaduna remains committed to partnering with NCoS and other stakeholders to ensure access to justice for indigent inmates and successful re-entry into society.

In his remarks, the Commandant, Correctional Service Training School Kaduna, and Controller of Corrections, Dr. Raymond Yohana Jatau, Ph.D., said the NCoS Act 2019 marked a shift from punitive incarceration to a people-oriented approach focused on correction, rehabilitation and re-integration.

Dr. Jatau noted that the Act created the Non-Custodial Service Directorate and provided for the establishment of a Degree Awarding Institute to build capacity for effective service delivery in the Service.

Tracing the history of corrections in Nigeria, he said the first prison was established in 1873 at Broad Street, Lagos, while Decree 9 of 1972 unified prisons under the Nigerian Prison Service, now NCoS.

The Commandant called on stakeholders to support the transformation agenda of NCoS, describing the Service as critical to national security and to redirecting youths away from criminal influences.