The Federal Government has called on well-meaning members of the public and philanthropic groups to support government efforts in decongesting correctional facilities across the country through the option of fine payment.
Deputy Controller General of Corrections (DCG), Ibrahim Idris, made the call during a public hearing by the Independent Investigative Panel on the alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power, Torture, Cruel, Inhumane Treatment against the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), yesterday in Abuja. He said that “Last year, a total of 28,149 inmates were released from Nigerian prisons after their fines and compensations were paid.
“Paying fines and compensation for inmates is a charitable act that significantly helps decongest correctional facilities.
Idris urged individuals and organisations to follow proper procedures, citing a case where a minister not only paid the fines but also provided repatriation money for the released inmates.
He highlighted that fewer inmates in custody allows for better rehabilitation because of the prevailing belief that imprisonment is a punishment, but not rehabilitation.
Assistant Controller General of Corrections, Cyrus Lekatile, also speaking at the hearing, addressed the legal challenges related to compensation.
He explained that “Correctional centres cannot hold inmates without a valid remand document, and if an inmate cannot pay a fine or compensation, the sentence is served”, but at the end of the jail term, the unpaid compensation is either converted into an additional jail term, or the inmate is released by a court order.
Lekatile also spoke about a proposed amendment to the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.
The amendment, he said, would create a Victim Compensation Trust Fund, funded by federal allocations. This fund would pay victims directly, removing the burden from inmates who are unable to pay, although inmates would still be required to perform duties to generate money, no matter how small, to contribute to the fund.
Secretary of the Panel, Dr. Uju Agomoh, in her summary for the day, called on the Service to provide detailed information on its implementation of non-custodial measures, citing concerns about overcrowding in custodial centres and a lack of funding for alternatives to incarceration.
The panel’s request followed a session focused on the use of fines and compensation as alternatives to imprisonment. Agomoh pointed out that the panel noted that the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had provided support in December 2023 that benefited 4,086 inmates, paying N585,000 to cover fines and compensation.
The panel is now requesting a comprehensive list of all inmates who have been unable to pay their fines and are serving time instead.
“The panel took complete notice of the fact that many people who have options of fines have put in the time, and yet many a time the fines are very little compared to the expenditure that the government will spend on them. Instances where persons have a N10,000 fine for six months, N30,000 fine for six months, were noted against that.”
