The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), said on Tuesday that the Federal Government was planning to embark on second phase of prison decongestion exercise which would focus on juvenile inmates.
The minister who spoke during a virtual interactive session with the Attorneys-General and Commissioners of Justice and heads of courts, said 3,751 inmates were released in a nationwide decongestion exercise shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19.
He said, “I am glad to inform you that by way of leveraging on the achievements recorded during the said exercise, the Ministry has articulated plans for the second phase of the Nationwide Custodial Decongestion which will this time, focus on implementing amnesty and decongestion for juveniles deprived of their liberty during the COVID-19 Pandemic and beyond and will entail the collaborative efforts of the State Attorneys-General, heads of Court of the 36 states and the FCT, the Ministry of Women Affairs, the Nigerian Correctional Service, Non-Government Organizations like the United Nations Children’s Funds as well as, other relevant cum critical justice sector stakeholders.”
The Tuesday’s event was co-organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion and the United Nations Children’s Funds. (Sundiata Post)
