By Mathew Johnson

Prison Rehabilitation and Law-Abiding Organisation (PRALARG) International has raised fresh concerns over what it described as the degrading and undignified conditions faced by inmates in Nigerian correctional centres, warning that the country risks reinforcing criminal tendencies if rehabilitation continues to be handled without respect for human dignity.

The organisation made the call on Friday in Ibadan, Oyo State, during its annual conference marking its 10th anniversary. The two-day event, themed “Rehabilitation as a Right: Balancing Security, Justice and Human Dignity in Corrections,” brought together stakeholders in the justice and corrections sector to review gaps in Nigeria’s criminal justice system and chart reforms.

Speaking at the conference, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PRALARG International, Comrade Akinwumi Olayemi, said the organisation has, since its establishment in 2015, consistently encountered cases where individuals leave prison “far worse than they were before incarceration,” due largely to systemic failures in rehabilitation and reintegration.

According to him, the lack of humane treatment, absence of proper classification of inmates, and weak reintegration structures have contributed to the rise in repeat offences among ex-convicts.

“Majority of the people in prison are not supposed to be there if government is doing the right thing,” he said. “People’s rights have been violated, many are jailed out of ignorance of the law, and some cases could have been resolved through alternative dispute mechanisms. Sadly, instead of reforming people, the system ends up hardening them.”

Comrade Olayemi noted that overcrowded facilities and the current model, where minor offenders are kept alongside hardened criminals, create fertile ground for criminal networking rather than correction.

“There is no classification in prison. Someone detained for stealing can learn how to carry a gun. They interact with criminals daily, and society expects them to come out reformed,” he said.

He further condemned indiscriminate police raids that often violate citizens’ rights, explaining that victims of such arrests end up losing their livelihoods to litigation and return to society without support, empowerment or the means to rebuild their lives.

“After release, many have no money, no empowerment, and no support. How do we expect such a person to fit back into society? With no alternatives, many return to crime, this time worse off,” he warned.

Proffering solutions, the PRALARG CEO urged the government to place human dignity at the centre of law enforcement, incarceration and rehabilitation practices.

“Locking people up should be done with empathy and dignity. These individuals will return to society, and if they have been maltreated or punished unnecessarily, they will unleash that trauma back on society,” he said.

“Our correctional facilities must ensure rehabilitation and empowerment rooted in human dignity. This is crucial to building a safer society.”

The conference also featured discussions on rights-based approaches to corrections, reintegration programmes, and the need for government-civil society collaboration to strengthen Nigeria’s criminal justice system.