Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN said the Federal Government will host a three-day high level strategic workshop for the effective implementation of the Correctional Service Act, 2019.
* Abubakar Malami SAN*
This is contained in a statement issued by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN and made available to newsmen on Friday 22nd day of November, 2019.
The workshop which is to be hosted by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion of Prisons and Nigerian Correctional Service will commence from Monday 25th to Wednesday 27th November, 2019.
According to the statement, the aim of the workshop with the theme “towards Effective Implementation of the Correctional Service Act,2019’’ is not only to sensitize stakeholders , especially Justice Sector Institutions on the salient provisions of the Act ,but also to come up with a road map for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Act on non-custodial Measures.
“The workshop is coming up as a demonstration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the decongestion of prisons in Nigeria and towards the actualization of the implementation of Correctional Service Bill, 2019 into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August
14th, 2019,” the Minister said.
The Act repealed the Prisons Act, Cap P29, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and provides legal and institutional framework for emerging Nigerian Correctional Service. The provisions of the Act has been adjudged to be comprehensive and in compliance with International Human Rights Standards and good correctional practices.
The Minister pointed out that “The workshop provides a veritable platform for the overview and comparative analysis of the Correctional Serice Act, 2019. It will also engage participants to work together towards the development of a strategic Action Plan to support the deployment of non-custodial services as provided by the Act.”
The Act also provides for the rights of Correctional Centres and led down enabling rules for the Implementation of Non-Custodial Measures as well as the establishment of institutional Systematic and sustainable mechanisms to address the cases of the ever increasing
number of Awaiting Trial inmates.
The workshop will witness in attendance, relevant stakeholders in the prison reform process, including 36 State Attorneys-General, 36 state Chief Judges, Nigerian Correctional Service Officials, Law Enforcement Agencies, Rule of Law Experts, representatives of Civil Society
Organisations (CSOs) and other participants from the six Geo-Political
Zones in Nigeria.