Abimbola Akeredolu, the attorney-general and commissioner for justice in Ogun State, has vowed to present a draft bill before the State Executive Council, seeking the use of community service as an alternative punishment for prisoners serving various jail terms across the state.
Akeredolu made the statement in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, following a request from a non-governmental organisation, the Justice Development and Peace Movement (JDPM), which had earlier called for the use of community service as an alternative punishment to imprisonment by the judiciary.
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Francis Diyaolu, the coordinator of the group, had during an advocacy visit to the attorney-general and commissioner for justice, urged the ministry to lend support to its intention to make a presentation on the matter to the legislature and the State Executive Council for ratification.
Diyaolu noted that prolonged trials and unnecessary imprisonment for minor offences had done more damage than good to the society, adding that the ripple effects of this include broken homes with children becoming robbers and prostitutes or victims of child abuse, which he said could compound the social pressures which the government would have to contend with.
