25,679 people are serving five years of non-custodial service—FCT NCoS

The Nigerian Correctional Service disclosed on Tuesday that 25,679 prisoners in the Federal Capital Territory received sentences for non-custodial services within a five-year period.

The NCoS Act, 2019, which established the Nigerian non-custodial service under Part II, providing for its functions, power to make regulations and guidelines, and the ability to allow for parole, probation, community service, restorative justice measures, and any other non-custodial measure, was a breakthrough in integrating the non-custodial component into the NCoS’s operations.

In order to implement any orders determined by a court with appropriate jurisdiction, the non-custodial service directorate is present in each of the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital.

In an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, FCT Command spokesperson Adamu Duza, representing NCoS, stated that the overall number of offenders committed to non-custodial services from 2019 to date is 25,679.

Duza said that “we supervised over 21,000 offenders in FCT alone” during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Imagine the overcrowding and the health risks that would have resulted from sending these people to our facilities.

The public stigmatizes offenders, disregarding the reformatory processes they have undergone, he added, lamenting the lack of cooperation with the non-custodial service.

Thus, for Nigeria’s safety, the spokesperson urged all government departments, local authorities, and religious leaders, among others, to back the NCoS’s non-custodial service.