PRAWA trains Lagos parole board members on strengthening parole administration
Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has trained members of Lagos State parole board on strengthening parole administration for effective justice delivery
The two days training with support funding from the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) is under PRAWA’s Advancing Implementation of Non-Custodial Solutions (Al-NCS) project.
The National Parole Board, part of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), was established on August 25, 2022.
Its mandates include overseeing parole eligibility, set release conditions, and revoke parole if necessary.
The board is an important part of the Nigerian criminal justice system, which aims to improve compliance with laws, reduce prison overcrowding, and lower administrative costs.
In opening remarks at the event, Dr Uju Agomoh, President, PRAWA and member, national parole board of Nigeria said that the training was to continue the series of physical training for parole board members, under the advancing non custodian solutions project.
Agomoh said that the training aimed to sensitised the parole board members on the contents of the protocol and guidelines for parole administration in Nigeria
She said that it was not just about looking at the content but to understand how to implement the guidelines and the challenging issues.
“For parole, the whole notion is emphasising good behavior because parole is looking at the evidence that is brought before it in relation to those who had made application for parole.
“It means somebody who has been on sentence or has served sometime in custody, but because of this good behavior, you want the person to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community.
“So what we are looking at is the different ways of measuring good behavior. Let me stress that it is not talking about the good behavior outside, but the person’s behaviour when in custody.
“The other thing for parole board is to see that there is also potential that this person when they are released will also continue to be of good behavior in the community.
“We looked at the benefits of parole and then underscore the different element in terms of assessing the suitability and of course ensuring that the eligibility criterion that has been put in the guidelines is met.
In the same vein, Justice Babajide Candide-Johnson, retired judge of high Court of Lagos State and inaugural chairman of the state parole board disclosed that all chairmen of states parole board were retired judges.
Candide-Johnson said that the inauguration of the parole board was the results of the 2019 legislation of the National Assembly converting the previous system into a correctional service system.
“Under the 2019 correctional services Acts, the focus is on human rights, human face reformation, restoration and reintegration of inmates back into Society.
“So the correctional service as of today is in line with international best practices.
“And the parole board in summary provides a second chance and a pathway for reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders who have good behavior to be restored back into Society in a manner and with conditions that simultaneously ensures that the risk to the society is not jeopardised.
“So it’s a balancing act; given a second chance and ensuring that those who are coming back realise their errors and can then come back into the society without recommitting and endangering the society,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Babajide Martins, Director, Public Prosecution Lagos State and member of the parole board said that the training was apt.
Martins said it was imperative for the members of the parole board to have an overview of the legal framework which gives them the power to do what the parole board was set up to do.
He said that the training would also provide capacity building for all the members in order to ensure that there was a successful parole system in the state in particular and the nation at large.
He said that the advantage of parole system was to ensure that people who have been of good behavior and conducted themselves well while in correctional services were left off to go early.
He said this was with a view to give them the opportunity to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.
In her remarks, Mrs Victoria Dare, Deputy Comptroller of Corrections, non custodian services, NCoS Lagos State command said that with the training, administering parole in the state would now be easy.
