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Restorative Justice and Non-Custodial Measures as Panacea for Prison Decongestion in a Covid-19 Era: Nigeria in Perspective

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International Law and Development in the Global South

Abstract

Restorative and non-custodial sentences or measures are those sentences a court can impose on an offender which does not involve keeping the offender in prison or any other penal facility. They include compensation, damages, costs, restitution, restoration, plea bargain, community service, suspended sentence, probation and parole.

The overuse of imprisonment and fine as sentencing measures by the judiciary in Nigeria without commensurate recourse to restorative and non-custodial sentencing measures as provided in our laws have increasingly led to prison congestion. Overcrowding is a known risk factor for infection and high-density prisons can double the risk of major infections, such as tuberculosis and COVID-19.

This paper, while discussing legislative provisions on restorative justice and non-custodial sentences, makes a case for Judges, Magistrates and Prosecutors to apply restorative justice and non-custodial measures as they are beneficial and viable tools for prison decongestion particularly in this COVID-19 era.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Physical distancing, use of masks, and frequent hand washing with proper technique or use of alcohol-based sanitizers are recognized as measures that can help reduce the risk of transmission. See COVID-19 and the US Criminal Justice System: Evidence for Public Health Measures to Reduce Risk October 2020 John Hopkings Bloomberg School of Public Health, p. 2.

  2. 2.

    Available at: http://www.unicri.it/probation/prb_aboutus.htm. Accessed on 23/4/2021.

  3. 3.

    Various states in Nigeria has also adapted and passed the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws.

  4. 4.

    For instance, The Enugu State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, (ACJL) 2017, adopted the ACJA with minor differences.

  5. 5.

    Section 401(2) of the ACJA provides that in determining a sentence, the court shall have the objectives in mind, and may decide in each case the objectives that are more appropriate or possible.

  6. 6.

    Source: World Prison Brief, available at: https://prisonstudies.org/country/nigeria.

  7. 7.

    World Prison Brief-Nigeria. Available at: https://prisonstudies.org/country/nigeria.

  8. 8.

    Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID 19), available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963. Accessed on 24/4/2021.

  9. 9.

    COVID-19 and the US Criminal Justice System: Evidence for Public Health Measures to Reduce Risk. Op. cit. note 1, p. 1.

  10. 10.

    COVID-19 Coronavirus- Update. Last updated: 2021-04-27 13:20:06 UTC. Available at: https://virusncov.com/. Accessed on 27/4/2021.

  11. 11.

    COVID-19 and the US Criminal Justice System: Evidence for Public Health Measures to Reduce Risk. Op. cit. note 9, p. 2.

  12. 12.

    Ibid., p. 3.

  13. 13.

    Ani C. C., “Using Mediation as an Instrument of Peace”, in Peter Fogam (Ed.) Essays on Mediation as an ADR Tool: Lagos State Experience (Lagos State Citizens’ Mediation Centre), 2017, pp. 270‒271.

  14. 14.

    Available at: http://www.evangelizationstation.com/htm_html/moral%20theology/Death%20Penalty/restorative_justice_and_the_comm.htm. Accessed on 23/4/2021.

  15. 15.

    Walgrave, Lode, Restorative Justice, Self-interest and Responsible Citizenship, (Cullompton: Willan Publishing, 2008), p. 21.

  16. 16.

    Eva Achjani Zulfa Restorative Justice in Indonesia: Traditional Value No. 1 - Volume 2, May –

    August 2011 Indonesia Law Review, p. 33.

  17. 17.

    Melia, Manuel Cancio, “Victim Behaviour and Offender Liability: A European Perspective”, 7 Buff.

    Crim. L.. Rev. 513 (2003‒2004) pp. 513‒514.

  18. 18.

    Odoh Ben, “Creative Approaches to Crime: The Case for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Magistracy in Nigeria” Uruchi Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, Vol.36, 2015 (Online), p.

    5.

  19. 19.

    Edit Törzs, “Restorative justice models and their relevance to conflicts in intercultural settings” Deliverable 3.1: Report on restorative justice models, p. 6.

  20. 20.

    Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custodial_sentence. Cited in Ani C. C, “Forging New Trends in Sentencing: Overview of UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures and the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Law 2007” The Justice Journal, FMOJ, 2nd ed. 201, p. 120.

  21. 21.

    See the Preamble to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures (The Tokyo Rules).

  22. 22.

    Custodial and Non-Custodial Measures Social Reintegration Criminal Justice Assessment Tool kit (New York: United Nations, 2006), p. 2.

  23. 23.

    Klein A. R., Alternative Sentencing. A Practitioner’s Guide, (Anderson Publishing Co., 1988), p. 1.

  24. 24.

    Ibid.

  25. 25.

    Ani C. C, “Forging New Trends in Sentencing: Overview of UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures and the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Law 2007 op. cit. note 20, p.118.

  26. 26.

    Odekunle F., “Restitution, Compensation and Victims Remedies: Background and Justifications” in Adetiba S., (Ed.) Compensation and Remedies for Crime Victims in Nigeria, (Lagos: Federal Ministry of Justice, 1990), p. 157.

  27. 27.

    Section 420 (1) ACJA 2015, Section 415 ACJL, 2017, Enugu.

  28. 28.

    S 427 (1) ACJA, 2015.

  29. 29.

    Section 420 (3), ACJA, 2015 and S. 415 (3) of the ACJL Enugu.

  30. 30.

    Section 420 (3) (b) ACJA and Section 415 (3) (b), ACJL, Enugu.

  31. 31.

    Section 420(2) ACJA 2015 and Section 415 (2) ACJL Enugu.

  32. 32.

    McEwen W. A. “Non-Institutional Treatment of Offenders” in The Nigerian Magistrate and the Offender, p. 99.

  33. 33.

    Ibid.

  34. 34.

    See Sections 460‒466 ACJ Act and Section 469‒475 ACJL Enugu.

  35. 35.

    Section 461 (4) and Sect. 470 (4) ACJL, Enugu.

  36. 36.

    Section 461 (6) ACJA and Sect. 470 (6) ACJL Enugu.

  37. 37.

    Section 461 (5) ACJA and Sect. 470 (5) ACJL Enugu.

  38. 38.

    Section 461 (7) ACJA and Sect. 470 (7) ACJL Enugu.

  39. 39.

    Section 462 (1) ACJA and Sect. 471 (1) ACJL Enugu.

  40. 40.

    Section 461 (1) ACJA and Sect. 470 (1) ACJL Enugu.

  41. 41.

    Ani C. C, “Forging New Trends in Sentencing: Overview of UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures and the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Law 2007, op. cit. note 20, p.141.

  42. 42.

    F. O. Babafemi., “Restitution and Compensation of Criminal Justice” in Adeyemi, A. A. (Ed.), The Nigerian Criminal Process, (University of Lagos Press, 1977), p. 251.

  43. 43.

    See also Section 489 ACJL Enugu.

  44. 44.

    Section 337 ACJA and Section 491 ACJL Enugu.

  45. 45.

    A. Milner, The Nigerian Penal System, (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1972), p. 127.

  46. 46.

    Section 324 ACJA.

  47. 47.

    Sections 478‒483 ACJL Enugu.

  48. 48.

    Sections 478–480 ACJL, Enugu.

  49. 49.

    S. 369 ACJA and S 212 ACJL Enugu.

  50. 50.

    Ani C. C. “Criminological Foundations of Forfeiture-Including Types of Forfeiture Regimes”. Paper presented at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Training Workshop on Seizure and Forfeiture of the Proceeds of Crime, 26‒29 October, 2015.

  51. 51.

    A. Adekunle, “Seizure of Proceeds of Criminal Activity: in Recent Financial Crimes Legislation in Nigeria”, in Modern Practice Journal of Financial and Investment Law, Vol. 3 No.2, 1999, pp. 253–254.

  52. 52.

    Ibid., p. 252.

  53. 53.

    Cap E1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

  54. 54.

    See Ani C. C. Ani Comfort Chinyere, Tools for Effective Prosecution of Corruption and Related Cases, in B. Owasanoye, S. Akinrinade and E. O. Okebukola (Eds.) ICPC and the War Against Corruption in Nigeria, (Anti Corruption Academy of Nigeria, 2020) pp. 337–338.

  55. 55.

    Ani C. C, “Emerging Trends on the Presumption of Innocence and the Right to Silence in Nigeria”, University of Benin Journal of Private and Property Law, 2010, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1–26.

  56. 56.

    See Ani C. C. Ani Comfort Chinyere, Tools for Effective Prosecution of Corruption and Related Cases, op. cit. note 54, p. 341.

  57. 57.

    Section 460 ACJ Act and Sect. 469 ACJL Enugu.

  58. 58.

    Section 469 (2) ACJL.

  59. 59.

    Section 454 ACJ Act and Section 393 of ACJ Law Enugu.

  60. 60.

    M. Day, Alternatives to Custodial Sentencing A Manual for the Implementation of Community Service Orders in the O.E.C.S. Available at: http://74.6.238.254/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=non+custodial+sentencing+options&xa=Nk9uAakW.xjA.qE0qN.TAw--%2C1290905265&fr=yfp-t-701

  61. 61.

    Ibid.

  62. 62.

    Available at: http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/criminaljustice/nationalobjectives/cj/standards/htm/typesofprobationorder.html Accessed on 2/12/2020.

  63. 63.

    Sections 439 and 440 ACJ Act. By Section 439, “deported” means the deportation from Nigeria of a person not being a citizen, to his country.

  64. 64.

    Section 476 (2) ACJL Enugu.

  65. 65.

    Section 467 (3) and Section 476 (3) ACJL Enugu.

  66. 66.

    Rosie A. Joseph, “Plea Bargaining a Means to an End” Available at: www.manupatra.com/roundup/326/Articles/Plea%20bargaining.pdf.

  67. 67.

    Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court, available at: http://www.answers.com/topic/plea-bargain. See generally, Ani C. C, ‘’Plea Bargain: Immunity from Punishment?’’, in Epiphany Azinge and Laura Ani (Eds.) Plea Bargaining, (NIALS, 2012), p. 271.

  68. 68.

    Section 270 (4) (b) (ix) of the ACJ Act 2015.

  69. 69.

    Section 270 (5) ibid.

  70. 70.

    Section 270 (11) ibid.

  71. 71.

    Section 270 (12) ACJ Act.

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  1. Enugu State High Court, Enugu State Judiciary, Independence Layout, Nigeria

    Chinyere Comfort Ani

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  1. Rosenberg, TX, USA

    Emeka Duruigbo

  2. San Francisco, CA, USA

    Remigius Chibueze

  3. Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria

    Sunday Gozie Ogbodo

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Ani, C.C. (2023). Restorative Justice and Non-Custodial Measures as Panacea for Prison Decongestion in a Covid-19 Era: Nigeria in Perspective. In: Duruigbo, E., Chibueze, R., Gozie Ogbodo, S. (eds) International Law and Development in the Global South . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13741-9_4

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