Nigeria Prisons and the Dispensation of Justice

Abstract

Nigeria prison system was modeled by colonial prison administration with emphasis on punishment and deterrence. This contradicts the fundamental objective of prison establishment as a corrective institution, for reformation, rehabilitation and re-integration of inmates. The position of prison in criminal justice administration in Nigeria today can best be regarded as an endangered sub-sector, occupying an inferior position in government priorities. Poverty, socioeconomic and other constrains constitute bottlenecks to reformation effort. It is illogical that the difference between prison life and living in the 'free' Nigeria society today is fast closing up as the inmate in some instances feel better off in prison than outside prison. Ex-prisoners move from a life of hell typified by overcrowded cells, poor feeding, poor healthcare, maltreatment by prison officers, life full of denials to another life outside the prison walls that tend to have some semblance of what they had gone through in prison. As it stands today, the institution is generally inefficient and ineffective means of treating and rehabilitating offenders, especially for its use as an all-purpose repressive quarantine system.