Residents of Imo and Abia have expressed concern over the lack of remand homes in the two South-East states, saying that the situation poses serious developmental issues.

Respondents, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) were unanimous that something urgent and intentional should be done to reverse the trend in the interest of a healthy future for the country?s juveniles.

In Imo, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Mr Goodluck Uboegbulam, confirmed that the state does not have a remand home presently.

Uboegbulam, a Chief Superintendent of Corrections, further said that the only remand home that existed in the past was not run by NCoS but managed by the State Government.

He said, ?There used to be a remand home in Logara, Ngor Okpala Local Government Area (LGA) but it has become moribund and no longer exists.?

A sociologist, Mr Friday Onyekachi, said that juveniles? fundamental right to health, nutrition, education, and recreation was flagrantly violated and denied, when there are no remand homes.

Onyekachi called for ?urgent intervention and funding to bring the facilities back to life to cater for the young offenders?.

A social commentator and communications expert, Mr Modestus Anunne, said that the absence of such homes was a major reason for increased truancy, with foster care lacking and underage children loitering all over Douglas and Lobi Streets in Owerri.

He called for urgent government action, adding that ?if left unchecked, today?s street urchins could be the next generation of crime peddlers?.

Also, a social welfare officer, Mrs Nkechinyere Udoka, said that overcrowding, poor living conditions, malnutrition, physical and emotional abuse, and inadequate access to education and healthcare characterised the former remand home in the state.

?Rather than serving as rehabilitative centres, these facilities tend to function more like oppressive detention centres aimed at punishment.

?Sadly, government has done nothing to restore the home.

?The remand homes lack humane treatment and do not provide recreational, educational, or vocational training programmes essential for equipping the juveniles to reintegrate into society,? Udoka said.

A Child Psychologist, Mr Henry Ukachukwu, also decried the lack of remand homes in the state and called on the government to live up to its responsibilities by building at least one in each senatorial zone of the state.

NAN reports that a similar scenario exists in Abia, where the people also express worry over the absence of such an essential social facility in the state.

Mr Chinedu Nwoke, the Head of the Social Welfare Unit in Umuahia North LGA, said that ?there is no remand home or borstal institution established specifically for children either in the whole state or the LGA?.

He said that the Correctional Centre at Afara, Umuahia, where adult offenders were kept, still served as a remand home for juveniles that run foul of the law.

Nwoke, a cleric, said that there were also no programmes meant to socially re-integrate children either released from remand or orphanage homes.

?If any person or group wants to donate anything to the children, they come to us and we refer them to government recognised orphanages.

?No money is set aside for such in the local government system. They have never voted any fund for that purpose,? he said.

He, however, said that there were ongoing efforts to protect children?s rights in the state.

He said that Gov. Alex Otti had shown commitment to child protection, education and social welfare.

Nwoke, who is a member of the Abia State Committee for Domestication of National Guidelines for Alternative Care for Children, said that the state was taking part in an ongoing review for re-integration of children.

?That committee had been set up and we have been working hard, trying to come up with the guidelines on how to re-integrate children.

?Remand home is part of the guidelines and we are looking at how the state can protect the basic rights of these children, while they are still there.

?We are also looking at how their parents can access them when necessary so that they will not develop psychological problems,? Nwoke said.

He further said that the guidelines would be comprehensive for the state, adding that the final report was expected to be submitted in September.

A legal practitioner, Mr Kenneth Okoye, said the homes were often plagued by overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate access to basic necessities, like food, water, and healthcare.

?These conditions violate the rights of children to health, nutrition, education, and recreation,? Okoye said.

He commended the Federal Ministry of Justice for working in collaboration with the Presidential Committee on Correctional Reform and Decongestion to reposition borstal institutions and remand homes.

NAN reports that the Borstal Institutions and Remand Centres Act provides a framework for the establishment and management of such facilities in Nigeria.

Okoye argued that the Act, when reviewed and updated to reflect current laws and best practices, would focus on rehabilitation and re-integration.

Another lawyer, Mr Darlington Ezuronye, who advocated for policy reforms, regretted that the prevailing system focused more on punishment than rehabilitation.

According to Ezuronye, the current system could have long-term negative effects on children.

He called for improvement in the conditions and services provided in remand homes and borstal institutions, including increase in funding, infrastructure upgrade, access to education and healthcare.

A school teacher, Mrs Grace Eke, said she was not sure of any remand home or borstal institution in the state because children in conflict with law were being remanded at the Correctional Centre, Afara.

She decried the poor condition of the centre, citing overcrowding, poor sanitation, prolonged detention, the lack of legal representation and poor feeding, as some of the challenges faced at the centre.

Eke, while highlighting the psychological effects of remanding children in such facilities, recommended early intervention, individualised support and community-based solutions.

?As a teacher, I interface with children a lot and I have realised that poverty, family background, peer pressure and others can contribute to juvenile delinquency, making them end up in remand homes.

?There is need for effective rehabilitation and re-integration for children released from remand homes because the homes only serve as temporary solutions.

Meanwhile, Mr Joel Silas, a pastor, said he was in charge of the premises that used to serve as the Aba Remand Home on Opobo Road, Aba.

He said that the premises had been taken over by Country Club relaxation centre, which was set up during the last administration in the state.

Silas, a member of the Abia Community Police Vigilante, said that the absence of a functional remand home in the state was hurting single mothers and fathers.

?They have been coming and asking me if the home is functioning and that they would want to keep their children or wards there for character reformation,? he said.

He also said that some parents complained that their busy schedules had made it difficult for them to properly nurture and bring up the children in an upright and moral way.

He said the home could serve as a facility where youths indulging in some form of criminal activities could be reformed.

?A place like this should not have been abandoned because it will help the reformation and restoration of children straying from the path of good morals,? he said.

Contributing, an Aba-based lawyer, Mr Chinedu Duru, said it would be uncaring of the Abia Government not to establish functional remand homes.

Duru said that when children under the age of accountability contravened the law, there should be a place for them to be put away exclusively and then corrected.

?If indeed Abia has no remand home, it would mean that young people who commit crimes would be joined at the custodial centres with adults.

?Children should not be lumped with adults, who are in custody, because it would result in interactions that could corrupt the young minds the more,? he said.

Onyinyechi Nwosu, a Child Protection Advocate and the Abia State Coordinator, Child Protection Network Nigeria, decried the absence of a functional remand home and borstal institution in Abia.

Nwosu urged the State Government to rebuild the Opobo Road Remand Home/Borstal Institution in Abia South Senatorial District and construct two others in Abia North and Central Senatorial Districts.

?The absence of a functional juvenile remand home and borstal institution in Abia has severe implications for the welfare and future of children in conflict with the law.

?Without a specialised facility, such children are often kept in adult correctional centres, where they are exposed to hardened criminals, unhealthy environments, and negative influences that destroy their chances of meaningful rehabilitation.

?This practice violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 37(b) & 37(c)), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Article 17), and the Nigeria Child Rights Act (Sections 204 & 221),? Nwosu said.

She also said that the legal instruments emphasised the need for the separation of children from adults in detention and the prioritisation of rehabilitation over punishment.

According to her, keeping children in adult correctional centres is known to worsen delinquent behaviours, thereby deepening the cycle of crime in society.

The child rights advocate said Abia?s failure to provide a structured rehabilitation alternative undermined the work of child protection advocates and stakeholders, who struggle without an appropriate referral facility for juvenile cases.

?The government must urgently prioritise the rehabilitation of the dilapidated remand home and borstal institution in Aba, transforming it into a standard, well-equipped juvenile remand home and borstal institution that meets global child protection standards.

?In addition, at least one remand home and one borstal institution should be established in each of the other two senatorial districts to ensure accessibility across the state.

?Such facilities should not merely serve as detention centres, but rehabilitative spaces, offering counselling, education, vocational training, and psychosocial support to help young persons reintegrate positively into society,? she said.

Nwosu charged the Otti-led government to ensure that policies, resources, and interventions remained child-centred and rights-based.

She said that Abia could achieve that through strengthening partnerships with networks, such as the Child Protection Network, child-focused civil society organisations, and other stakeholders.

?Investing in functional remand homes and borstal institutions is not just a legal obligation but a moral responsibility.

?It is key to safeguarding the future of our children and, ultimately, ensuring the safety and stability of our society,? Nwosu said. (NAN)

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