Stakeholders of Restorative Justice (RJ) in Lagos State have called for more enlightenment on the programme as it will reduce the burdens of the courts, Nigeria Correctional Service, police and community at large.
They made the call on Thursday during a stakeholders engagement on Restorative Justice (RJ) organised by the Lagos State RJ Centre, Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with European Union Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme 11 (RoLaC 11).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Restorative Justice is a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence.
It is a different way of thinking about crime and conflict, and RJ focuses on holding the offender accountable in a more meaningful way.
The theme of the meeting was: “Restoring dialogue, solidarity and Justice in today’s society”.
The stakeholders who believed that many, including offenders, victims, police, lawyers and community leaders do not know much about restorative justice, called for more engagements in this regard.
They also pointed out that restorative justice should not be implemented alone without the offender knowing the reason why they were being released through the RJ process.
The stakeholders said that RJ and its advantages should be mentioned at the Nigerian Bar Association Conferences, lawyer gatherings, Magistrates’ conferences, Nigeria Correctional Service Centres, police conferences among others.
The Coordinator of RoLaC in Lagos State, Mrs Ajibola Ijimakiwa, said that data from January to August 2023, showed that the RJ hub in Lagos received 104 cases, stressing that the number of cases being referred to the hub was low.
“It is crucial to identify the challenges in this meeting and agree on solutions that will address these challenges and establish a more robust pathway to enhance the efficiency of the restorative justice service and improve the referral system.
“The programme today will hopefully be a catalyst for an increasing number of criminal matters referred to the Restorative Justice Centre for resolution,” she noted.
The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, represented by the Deputy Chief Registrar, Mrs Joy Ugbomoiko, said that the purpose of the event was to promote and raise consciousness to a higher level the importance of restorative justice.
Alogba said that there was the need to encourage RJ by courts, stressing that the advantages were high to all parties.
The Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr Lawal Pedro, represented by Ms Titilayo Shittabey, noted that RJ was a powerful way of dealing with conflicts and repairing harm, instead of punishment.
According to Pedro, RJ focuses on healing and reconciliation, which can guard against the risk of enmity usually caused if punishment is retributive.
“This initiative is a testament to our dedication to a justice system that not only penalized unlawful acts but also actively strive towards rebuild trust among parties in conflict and promoting harmony within our community,” he said.
NAN reports that no fewer than 70 persons drawn from the Ministry of Justice in Lagos State, NBA, Nigeria Correctional Service, NGOs, Ministry of Education and the police attended the event.(NAN)
