Criminologists Push For Correctional Service Reformation In Nigeria

The Nigeria Society for Criminology (NSC) has stressed the urgent need for correctional service reformation, disclosing that out of the 81,288 total inmates in Nigeria’s Correctional Service centres across the country, 53,811 are on the awaiting trial list.

As a result, the society said it is set to address the challenges facing the Nigerian Correctional Service and propose lasting solutions.

The society’s president, Professor Oludayo Tade, said in a statement in Ibadan on Monday that scholars in criminology and the criminal justice system would converge on the University of Abuja to examine correctional service reformation in the country against the backdrop of the challenges confronting the service.
According to him, the conference, which will take place on June 26-27, 2025, aims to present evidence emanating from the research conducted by members of the society aimed at promoting justice, achieving rehabilitation of inmates and ensuring social reintegration of discharged inmates.

Tade stated that the conference would feature presentations from over 100 researchers and postgraduate students in criminology and security studies.

The 2025 conference is themed: “Correctional service reformation in Nigeria: Promoting justice, rehabilitation and social reintegration”

He explained that the conference objectives were to “Assess the current state of Nigeria’s correctional system and the need for reforms; explore strategies for practical reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of ex-inmates; and interrogate the role of law, policy, and human rights in penal reforms.

“Analyse probation, parole, alternative dispute resolution, including restorative justice; assess the impact and implications of the 2019 Nigeria Correctional Services Act; and discuss the challenges facing correctional services in Nigeria and make policy recommendations for mitigating them”.