The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi,has called on sentencing judges and magistrates in the country to embrace the effective use of non-custodial measures.

Fagbemi made the call in his address while declaring open a two-day workshop on the implementation of non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA 2015).

The minister of justice was represented by the Director, Administration of Criminal Justice and Reforms Department, Federal Ministry of Justice, Leticia Ayoola-Daniels.

Fagbemi stated that the purpose of non-custodial measures is to find effective alternatives to imprisonment for offenders in accordance with the current global shift in punishing convicts with alternatives to prison terms

He also noted that the use of non-custodial measures will facilitate the reduction of the correctional facilities population to the barest minimum in line with section 470(2)(c) of the ACJA 2015.

“Sentencing is a core judicial function in criminal justice. In discharging that function, the sentencing Judge must strive to achieve the right balance between imposing a merited sentence in the case at hand,” Fagbemi said

“While maintaining a broad level of consistency with other cases so that sentencing at a systematic level is fair. Sentencing guidelines and frameworks are best understood as means to enable the sentencing court to strike that sometimes elusive balance.”

He also expressed concern about the increasing number of minor offenders being remanded in prisons with hardened criminals, leading to their initiation into a life of crime.

“Today 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 been reformed,” he added.

AGF stated that the workshop aims to share knowledge on the effective use of non-custodial measures to reduce arbitrary punishments, promote uniformity in punishments, and utilize alternatives to imprisonment to decrease the population of awaiting trial inmates.

While charging participants on needs to prioritise effective implementation of the criminal justice Act for maximum effect, the AGF added: “In order to facilitate the application and effective use of the non-custodial sentencing, the legal and regulatory framework must be effectively implemented.

“The Success of any system of criminal justice administration depends on the level of effective implementation of the guidelines by the agencies involved.

“The aim is to also 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.

“It is our hope that the Non custodial measures and sentencing guidelines will be more operational and effectively implemented in order to achieve the objectives and purposes of the reforms in the criminal sector,”

The Administration of Criminal Justice Act was enacted and came into force on May 13, 2015.

The Act among other things placed a premium on non-custodial sentences in line with ACJA 2015.