The Anambra State House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to establish and regulate the Anambra State Correctional Service to ensure humane and effective management of offenders to provide for the administration of custodian and non-custodian services in the state and for connected purposes.
The Executive Bill, among others things, seeks to also establish a board and staff to manage Correctional Centres in the state with its expenditures captured in the budget of a fiscal year.
The bill which scaled Third Reading, was passed after clause-by-clause consideration at the Committee on the Whole during plenary in Awka on Thursday.
The Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Somtochukwu Udeze who presided over the plenary, said the law shall be cited as Anambra State Correctional Service Law 2025 and shall come into force on 18th day of September 2025.
While appreciating the House Committee on Judiciary and House Members for the thorough job done in passing the bill, the Speaker assured Ndi Anambra that the House will continue to pass laws that will support good governance in the state.
Speaking to newsmen thereafter, the sponsor of the Bill and Majority Leader of the House, Hon Ikenna Ofodeme said the Law does not contradict existing laws of the country, but is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval for state governments to engage into management and construction of Correctional centres in their domains.
“This is a global world where everyday population continue to increase leading to increase in crime and increase in suspects who are kept in Correctional centres untill investigations into their crimes are completed to enable justice carried out.
“Based on that, the State Government deemed it fit for this bill to exist to examine how we are going to manage Correctional centres better than the ones manned by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“We are not creating a law to contradict existing law of the federation, but to ensure humane and effective management of the offenders alongside the welfare of the inmates.”
Hon Ofodeme who is the Chairman, House Committee on Homeland Security of the state, described Correctional Centre as a place where a suspect stays and get rehabilitated for a certain period of time to become a better person to himself and the society.
“It will also serve as a decongestion of existing Correctional centres of the inmates and eliminate the unbudgeted additional cost associated with transporting inmates from Police Cells to courts.
“Now once we have this law, a Board will be created to manage the Correctional centres with its own staff. Again, welfare of inmates will equally be captured in the budget to decongest prisons in relations to criminal matters committed within Anambra State to ensure that justice is secured,” Ofodeme representing Ekwusigo constituency concluded.
Also speaking, the State Project Lead, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC), Mrs Josephine Onah commended the state legislators for enacting the law, describing it as a great milestone achieved under the watchful eyes of the Speaker, Rt Hon Udeze.
She emphasized that implementation of the law will form RoLAC’s workplan next year.
“Am so delighted this afternoon for the passage of this bill because we have been following up on that. It is part of the two draft legislations that RoLAC has supported for review and now, we are waiting for its enactment and accent for us to continue support for it’s implementation.
“Of a truth, the passage is a cheering news for me and my team, hence am just going to escalate it from my office,” Mrs Onah concluded.
The House adjourned to Tuesday 9th September 2025.
It is worthy of note that Nigerian prisons formerly fell under the Exclusive Legislative List but, following a 2023 constitutional alteration, are now under the Concurrent Legislative List. The term “Prisons” was replaced by “Correctional Services” and now both the National Assembly and State Assemblies can make laws related to correctional services within their respective jurisdictions.
About Author
