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Advocating for Restorative Justice in Nigeria


Last modified 2007-12-01 03:20

Participants in a recent one-day seminar organized by PF Nigeria discussed the chronic prison overcrowding in that country and explored solutions through alternatives to incarceration based on restorative justice.

The seminar, titled "Crime, Punishment and the Victim Remedy", was presided over by the chairman of the Law Reform Commission and featured presentations from two experts. Dan Van Ness, of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation at PFI provided an overview of restorative justice in his paper "The Jurisprudence of Restorative Justice."  Iyabo Obunniran, a law school professor in Lagos, gave a presentation titled "Sentencing Options and Victim Remedy - A Legal Framework," which focused on the potential of community service and restitution.

Representatives from Chief Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Ministry of Interior, the prison service, the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, and the Nigeria Law Reform Commission participated. The seminar concluded with a declaration calling for a commitment to relieving the prison overcrowding crisis through executive, legislative and judicial initiatives.

December 2007

Spotlight

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Communities of Restoration

What is restorative justice?

Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behaviour. It is best accomplished through cooperative processes that include all stakeholders.

Practices and programs reflecting restorative purposes will respond to crime by: (a) identifying and taking steps to repair harm, (b) involving all  stakeholders, and (c) transforming the traditional relationship between communities and their governments in responding to crime. more