- Agency Report
Some Lagos-based lawyers have said the planned scrapping of fines for drug offences falls short of the requirements of the law.
Their reactions followed plans by the Federal Government to remove the option of fines for convicted drug traffickers
The government described the provision as a loophole that had weakened the fight against drug-related crimes.
The proposed major policy shift, if implemented, will strengthen penalties and serve as a deterrent to drug-related offences in the country.
The proposal, which aligns with long-standing calls by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), is expected to form part of ongoing reforms to the country’s anti-drug legal framework currently before the relevant authorities.
Reacting, Mr Spurgeon Ataene, a rights activist, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos that the proposed initiative was hasty.
“The proposal may be hasty for now until the structures for rehabilitation during prison terms are fully in place and operational.
“In almost all climes, imprisonment, fines and even probation work side by side.
“Most times, offenders go to prison and become recidivists. Our facilities are not truly correctional but punitive.
“That is why offenders often learn more about crime rather than come out better than they were before,” he said.
Ataene suggested collaboration between the NDLEA and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to sanitise the system and eradicate drug trafficking within custodial centres.
According to him, only then should the government consider abolishing fines for drug-related offences.
Also speaking, a former NDLEA operative, Chief Benson Ndakara, said the removal of fines for drug offences could not be effected by administrative fiat but through due legal process.
He noted that this could only be done by first amending the law to remove the provision for fines.
“They will first have to amend the law to remove the option of a fine. If the law is not amended, a judge has the discretion to impose a fine in lieu of a prison term,” he said.
Citing judicial precedent, Ndakara explained that where the punishment prescribed for an offence was silent on the issue of fines, the court had the discretion to impose one
“If the law is amended to expressly remove the option of a fine, then no judge can impose one,” he said.
He added that for the proposed policy to become legally effective, the enabling law must first be amended.
Also, a litigation lawyer, Mrs Vivian Ekwegh, argued that the first step towards curbing drug offences should be reforming the correctional service system.
She said emphasis should be placed on making custodial centres truly reformatory rather than punitive.
“The correctional service system should first be reformed. The focus should be on rehabilitation rather than punishment because some of the so-called drug traffickers are victims of circumstance,” she said.
Ekwegh cited a drug case in which a spare parts dealer was charged with conspiracy and drug exportation
According to her, the drugs had been cleverly concealed in an electrical sofa stand without the dealer’s knowledge.
She maintained that it was important to ensure that innocent people were not subjected to severe punishment as a result of strict liability.
“It is not necessary to kill a fly with a sledgehammer,” she said. NAN