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.
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. Read more