‘From Manual to Digital Criminality’; Historicizing Nigeria’s Remand/Penal Institutions And Criminal Justice System

Abstract

The strategic importance of Prisons, remand centres and correctionary facilities in the development and sustainability of any nation is not in doubt. Moreover, a well balanced and structured criminal justice system ensures not only on ordered society, but remains as part of an all important fait accompli that steers sovereignties to greatness. In as much as there is no perfect human society, it is not the wish of any nation that most of its citizens would be criminals. Ills, misdemeanors, criminal tendencies and negative actions remain part of a continuum which expose the frailty in the human person. Here came the need for remand centres, though with time, rehabilitation proved a more portent tool than retributive incarceration, hence preventing recidivism on a significant number of the citizenry. The Nigerian Criminal Justice System with heavy colonial tinge, is not a child of circumstance, but a diligent accomplice that has evolved along the nation’s checkered history, transforming though slowly into a valuable asset in nation-building and development. Amongst the trio in the conveyer belt of criminal justice system, the Police, Courts and Prisons; as an institution with modern attribute, the Prisons imbued with human rehabilitation and reformation is of special focus in this study. Towards being realistic with research findings, the qualitative approach was adopted in historical analysis.