By Monsuru Olowoopejo
Lagos State Government has condemned the use of prisons as rehabilitation centre for convicted children in the country, but rather should be kept in correctional homes.
The state government maintained that sending children to prison affects their mental health due to the atmosphere they were often subjected to.
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Director, Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State, Mrs. Olayinka Adeyemi, faulted the act during a Stakeholder’s Summit on Juvenile Justice Administration in Nigeria, organized by Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errant (CURE-NIGERIA) in conjunction with the National Human Rights Commission, South-West Zone and the Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State.
Adeyemi, speaking on the occasion with the theme: Reforming Juvenile Justice Administration in Nigeria, Ending the Detention of Juveniles with Adults,” held at Office of the Public Defender Headquarter, Surulere, Lagos, expressed worries to find children incarcerated with adult in prisons, saying, children should be kept in a correctional homes where they can be reformed and rehabilitated so that they can become useful to themselves and the society as a whole.
Adeyemi said that the process of rehabilitation must also secure the rights of the child in conflict with the law stating that the rights must include and not be limited to the following, humane treatment with no corporal punishment; separation from adult offenders, if detained; access to free legal representation, bail and release on recognizance.