Guidelines for non-custodial sentences coming – FG

The federal government has said sentencing guidelines would be produced and issued for the implementation of non-custodial measures in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019.

The Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata (SAN) gave the hint Wednesday in a keynote address at a 2-day Retreat on Correctional Service Reform in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state.

 According to the SGF, the implementation framework that will emerge from the retreat will mainstream the roles of critical stakeholders for their consideration and implementation.

He said, “The essence of the retreat was to ensure that the Act is truly and effectively implemented in line with international best practices.”

“The second major expected outcome of this retreat is the review of the Draft Federal Capital Territory Courts (Non-Custodial Sentencing) Practice Directions, 2020; for issuance by the Chief Judge of the FCT, Abuja.

“This document will enable all courts in the Federal Capital Territory that exercise criminal jurisdiction to award non-custodial sentences as appropriate in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019,” Apata assured.

Explaining further, Apata said, “This pilot document will be extended to other States of the Federation, especially those States that have enacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Law.”

He explained further that the purpose of the retreat was to consolidate on the outcome of the national workshop on the effective implementation of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019.

Apata, who lauded all the International donor partners for their supports, also expressed gratitude to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel for hosting the Retreat.

Declaring the retreat open, the governor of Akwa Ibom state, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel commended the initiatives and steps taken by the federal government to reform the Correctional Service Centres.  

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