Stakeholders in the judicial system on Thursday converged to appraise the legal framework of the parole system and the criminal justice law in Nigeria.

At the appraisal workshop organised by the Cleen Foundation in Ilorin, participants agreed that the Parole Act, introduced in 2015, was one way to reduce prison congestion and improve the country’s criminal justice system.

Cleen executive director Peter Gad said the workshop was to bring stakeholders together to discuss the need to depoliticise the parole process and standardise the criteria for selecting inmates.

Mr Gad said the administration of justice was the cornerstone of any society that upholds the rule of law. According to him, collective efforts are pivotal in ensuring this cornerstone remains robust and effective.

“Parole is a critical component of our justice system, aimed at rehabilitating offenders and reintegrating them into the society as law-abiding citizens. It reflects a balance between punitive measures and the need for rehabilitation, recognising that the potential for reform and positive change exists within every individual.

“However, for parole to achieve its intended outcomes, it must be underpinned by a sound legal framework and effective administration,” he said.

Mr Gad said all stakeholders should work towards a more efficient and humane criminal justice system that punishes wrongdoing and promotes rehabilitation and reintegration.

The assistant controller of corrections, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Kwara command, Okunola Adebayo, said no one had enjoyed parole in Nigeria because the modus operandi had yet to be institutionalised.

Mr Adebayo, the parole board secretary and the head of the non-custodial measure in Kwara, said the national technical committee had yet to formalise the modules through which the states could domesticate the system.

“The parole system is a new phenomenon under the Nigerian justice system, even as it is being introduced into NCS, and we are still learning the ropes on how to exploit its benefits. As it is presently, there is no modus operandi, as it has not been well institutionalised.

“In Nigeria today, no one has benefited from parole because the National Technical Committee on parole in Abuja has yet to formalise the modules through which the states can domesticate. So that we can follow the tenets and enjoy the parole system,” he said.

Senior Sulyman, the commissioner for justice and attorney general of Kwara, said the workshop was apt and timely as justice was not only for the defendant but also for the victim and the society, which parole, among other things, sought to reintegrate inmates back to the society.

The commissioner said the state’s parole system would work with three-pointers: remittance of unserved terms, reduction of the sentence, and substitution of the sentence.

He said some of the conditions for parole include having served 2/3 of their terms with good conduct and those with critical health conditions.

Ibijoke Olawoyin, the chief registrar of Kwara High Court, said the parole system was laudable, but the ball needed to be set rolling as it has yet to start working in Kwara.

 She said that if the system was well implemented, it would go a long way in decongesting the correctional centres and serving as a form of reformation and reintegration into society.

Ms Olawoyin said it was unfortunate that there was no clear cut of how the parole system should work, but pledged the court’s willingness to synergise with other stakeholders once institutionalised.

 She further advised the government to have a reintegration process to accept the inmates released on parole as a form of training or skills acquisition.

The vice-chairwoman of the Nigerian Bar Association in Ilorin, Aisha Temim, commended the Cleen Foundation for looking inward at what happens to inmates after their sentence.

The secretary of the Community Policing Advisory Committee, Shola Mause, said it was laudable that reforms like this were being introduced into the criminal justice system in the country, as they were long overdue.

(NAN)