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Former Chief Judge the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Bello, has expressed discomfort at what he called ‘the growing number of adults in the nation’s borstal institutions’.

Justice Bello noted that despite the country having few borstal institutions, adults, some with their wives and children, now inhabit the only existing three.

He spoke in Abuja during the inauguration of a 13-member Technical Committee on the Review of Borstal Institutions and Remand Centres Act 2004, by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

Justice Bello, who is chairs the Presidential Committee on Correctional Reform and Decongestion, noted that during his committee’s recent tour of the borstal institutions, it saw adults inhabiting the one in Ilorin (Kwara State).

He said: “Our recent assessment of these institutions revealed the shortfalls of the present law. Contrary to the provisions of the Borstal Institutions and Remand Centers Act 2004, which allows for only the institutionalisation of offenders between the ages of 16-21, most children in the borstals are either below or above this age bracket.

“Most of them seen at the Ilorin Borstal Institute were in their 30s and 40s, with wives and kids.

“Additionally, children are not classified on the basis of their age, physical and mental health, length of stay, degree of delinquency and character.”

Malami, who was represented by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Justice), Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, worried over the alarming rate at which youths were involved in criminal activities.

The AGF noted that the country was currently witnessing an alarming increase in crime and criminal activities involving juveniles. He said the development requires urgent reform of the juvenile justice system and laws to reverse the trend.

Malami added that it was now imperative to review the country’s borstal institutions’ legal framework to ensure it conforms with the Child Right Act, 2003, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and the Correctional Services Act, 2019.