CJN Kekere-Ekun and AGF Fagbemi Demand ‘Sentencing Revolution’; Urge Judges to Swap Jail Time for Community Service to End Congestion Crisis

Nigeria’s legal “heavyweights” have issued a unified directive to the nation’s judiciary: the era of reflexive custodial sentencing must end. Today Friday, March 27, 2026, at a high-level roundtable in Abuja, Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun and Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi warned that the country’s correctional system is at a breaking point, with over 80,000 inmates currently straining facilities designed for far fewer.

The CJN, speaking at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), “flipped the script” on traditional punitive measures, arguing that the use of alternatives like community service is not a sign of leniency but of a smarter justice system. “We must recognize that for minor offenses, the best ‘Solution’ is one that reforms the individual within the community, rather than one that exposes them to the dark influence of hardened felons,” Justice Kekere-Ekun stated. She noted that while the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019 provides the legal backing for these measures, many judges remain hesitant to use them.

Supporting this stance, AGF Lateef Fagbemi highlighted the staggering fact that nearly 7 out of 10 inmates in Nigeria have not been convicted of any crime but are simply “awaiting trial.” He argued that by deploying non-custodial measures for those accused of non-violent or petty offenses, the government could immediately reduce the prison population, improve the dignity of inmates, and save billions in public spending.

The Administrator of the NJI, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, added that the success of this shift depends on better coordination between the courts, the police, and correctional officers. As the 2026 budget for inmate feeding reaches record highs, the message from the top is clear: the judiciary must embrace restorative justice to ensure that Nigeria’s prisons remain centers of reformation, not just warehouses for the forgotten.