FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Hope has risen for inmates in correctional facilities in Edo State, as the Controller, Sunday Oyakhire disclosed that over 30 of them have been profiled for parole, as part of efforts to decongest the facilities.
Oyakhire stated this at a roundtable stakeholders meeting on Non-Custodial Measures, NCM, organised by Prisons Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, PRAWA, in Benin City.
The controller, represented by the Deputy Controller in charge of Non-Custodial in Edo State, Ikpea Jonathan, said they had visited two of their centres where they sensitised inmates on the need to embrace parole.
“It is a timely event. We have been trying to see what we can do for the inmates. It is going to benefit them more. Just like we are going about it, I think on June 13, we had a sensitisation with our inmates on parole, we went to the two custodial centres.
“There is hope because as it is now, we have profiled almost 33 inmates to be handled under parole.
“The community service had been going on, that is restorative justice. So parole is the next stage and this meeting is another roundtable that PRAWA has brought to us,” Oyakhire said.
Speaking on the benefits of non-custodial measures in the justice system, the President of PRAWA and Associate Professor of Criminology and Security Studies, Christland University, Abeokuta, Uju Agomoh, said the purpose is to highlight the advantages of alternatives to imprisonment.
She said its key benefits include reduced government cost (food, medical, facility expenses), decreased negative impact of incarceration on inmates and families, and improved societal safety through community supervision.
She added that non-custodial options like community service and probation offer rehabilitation and cost savings, creating a “win-win” situation for government and the society.
Speaking, the Chief Judge of Edo State, Daniel Okungbowa, represented by Justice Efe Ikonmwonba, expressed hope for inter-agency collaboration to reduce congestion by properly implementing laws.
Commending the organisers of the programme, the chief judge promised the support of the judiciary.
He said the overall goal is to alleviate overcrowding through legal implementation.
