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| Fashola canvasses thorough reforms of Nigeria's prison system |
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| Wednesday, 13 August 2008 | ||||||
     Governor Fashola who spoke when he received the chairman and members of the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy at the Alausa Oval office added that "as a state we are ready to collaborate with Federal agencies to begin to build new and modern prisons that incorporate best practices in reforms and rehabilitation by society". He added that "it is evident that the system as it currently exists , was never intended to reform indigenes who were agitating for independence and therefore we must develop a prison system that suits the citizens of this state and comparable to foreign jurisdiction". Said he: "They are overcrowded and not the kind of prisons that this country should refer to as prisons in the twenty first century" Governor Fashola added that all prisons currently in existence in the country were inherited from colonial masters and have not been upgraded to respond to population explosions and therefore incidences of conducts that have necessitated custodial sentences are still prevalent. He called for a relocation of all such prisons from residential areas to outskirts of the city, adding that when the prisons were initially built they were in the outskirts but since development has already moved to the outskirts there is a need to relocate them. He added that in addition to the fact that it is not healthy to have prison homes where children are being raised; the relocation of prisons to more suitable environment would make expansion possible and also allow for large scale farming to engage inmates and boost food production. The Lagos State Governor added that prison reform system is a concomitant part of administration of justice and the maintenance of security, law and order in the society. He also suggested that Bar Associations should be involved in setting up prison reform committees or prison management committees which can exercise oversight or complimentary functions with prison authorities to ensure that prisoners are thoroughly reformed. He explained that this has become necessary because most people who end up in prison do so because of what members of the bar did or failed to do at one point or the other, adding that the members are the most appropriate to perform the role. Governor Fashola added that it is also important to regularly monitor what progress is being made in the prisons as part of the role that the Bar has to play in the administration of justice. He acknowledged the commitment of the members of the committee in the last one year of its existence noting that they met regularly despite the challenging circumstance in which they are operating. Governor Fashola promised that the present administration in the state would do its best to ensure that the recommendations of the committee are implemented restating however that only God Almighty can ultimately forgive mortals. Governor Fashola also said the committee has demonstrated that there is a need to balance the need to grant amnesty with the need of the society as demonstrated by its various efforts of monitoring conditions in the prisons. He added that work is progressing steadily on the recommendations of the committee, adding that all that he needs to do now is to consult with members of the Security Council on some of the recommendations made by the committee. Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Kole Abayomi (SAN) said the committee on prerogative of mercy has gone beyond mere recommendation of people to visiting the prisons and ascertaining how the people are fairing in their day to day lives behind the prison walls. He added that the committee ensured that majority of those recommended for amnesty are people who have served a substantial part of their prison sentence and who have demonstrated remorse for the act for which they went to jail. Mr Abayomi said this has become imperative in order to ensure that criminally minded people who are not reformed are not unleashed on the society thereby endangering the generality of the people. While commending the achievements of the administration, he thanked Governor Fashola for the support he has given to the committee members in the discharge of their duties, adding that the committee can only recommend but the Governor has the prerogative on when people can actually be released.  Quote this article on your site | Views: 252 | Print | E-mail
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