(The country owes children in correctional institutions care and protection)

Ordinarily, remand homes serve as detention centres for children who are either awaiting trial or have been convicted of offenses. In other societies, vulnerable children who need protection and those beyond parental control are also commonly kept in remand homes while a social inquiry report is being prepared. But in Nigeria, these homes, according to a recent ?Policy Report on the State of Remand Homes in Nigeria? by LightRay Media, are plagued by overcrowding, poor living conditions, malnutrition, physical and emotional abuse, and inadequate access to education and healthcare.

The conditions at these remand homes largely reflect the national attitude towards children and the most vulnerable groups in Nigeria. The situation in this supposedly corrective home is not remarkably different from those of adults in conflict with the law. Like the prisons, the few remand homes in the country are oppressive institutions aimed at punishing offenders rather than rehabilitating them. The institutions are decrepit, ill-equipped and the inmates ill-fed. They are denied humane treatment and have no access to recreational and sporting activities. Even more, they also lack relevant educational and vocational training to equip them to live a sustainable life when they eventually return to the larger society.

Indeed, a recent study at the Port Harcourt Remand Home in Rivers State revealed that the place was poorly configured to manage juvenile offenders. Besides, many of the personnel are not only ill-trained, but insufficient. More concerning, Nigeria lacks a dedicated helpline that street children can access to seek protection, redress, or shelter, leaving them even more vulnerable to abuse and neglect. That perhaps explains why we have a large army of youths roaming the streets begging for alms instead of being in schools. Without homes or any discernible means of survival except begging, these children are easily lured into all manner of crimes

Meanwhile, the attendant result of the poor, difficult and deprived environment in the custodial institutions is such that many of the young offenders are transformed to hardened criminals. They often plot their escapes and later constitute themselves into even greater burden and danger to the society. There is also a social factor to the problem. While there may be no reliable statistics on the issue, there is no doubt that many of the children in the remand homes across the country are from the poor in society ? those in dire need of care and protection. Many of them live on the street and engage in any activities to scrape by before running afoul of the law.

Unfortunately, the prevailing depressed economy in the country is no doubt accentuating the problem of juvenile crimes as many families are increasingly becoming unable to live up to the challenge of parenthood. Yet, the country owes those children in correctional institutions care and protection. The poor living conditions at the remand homes are a violation of the children?s right to health, nutrition, education, and recreation. Nigeria is signatory to the Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter, and thus the treatment of the young offenders must conform to international standards.

There is therefore an urgent need to ensure that these institutions are well funded and provided with their basic needs. We urge the Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister to work with other relevant stakeholders to redress this deplorable conditions in remand homes across the country. The inmates must be equipped with the basic skills to fit easily into the larger society at the end of their reformation, and to fulfill their full potential.

Besides, the Nigerian society would be better off if parents could address the ills afflicting children before they form their character. (THISDAY Editorial)

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