An Assessment of Nigeria Prisons as Corrective Rather than Punitive Establishment

Abstract

This study represents an in-depth assessment of the prison institution as a corrective rather than a punitive establishment. It adopted a narrative form of analysis of data collected and observed conditions in Nigeria Prisons Service. It also observed that the major goals of the Service, which is to correct, reform and rehabilitate offenders, have not received adequate attention in reality, as a result of: (a) Poor funding of programmes (b) Inadequate staffing, inadequate staff training and poor welfare/motivational packages (c) Inadequate infrastructures and amenities. The essay proffered action plans for turning around the Nigeria Prisons to be ideal correctional establishment that can compare favourably with other correctional institutions. It is important to note that the issue of reformation is the joint responsibility of the Prisons Service and the community. Hence if an ex-convict, becomes recidivist, then the Prisons Service and the community have failed to ensure reform and re-socialization. If the corrective measures indicated or proffered are not given proper attention by the policy makers/stakeholders, it is likely that the prisons in Nigeria would remain a punitive establishment instead of corrective.