THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

 INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is the most populous sub-Saharan country with a predominantly youthful population of less than 15 years of age¹. However, many of its children face a life of inadequate educational opportunities, poor physical and mental health. A life of want, family instability, exposure to physical, sexual and emotional abuse has been associated with delinquent behaviour among children, and so a large number of Nigerian children are expected to be involved with the juvenile justice system.

The Children and Young Persons Act² is the major piece of legislation dealing with matters affecting children and young persons in Nigeria. Its stated purpose is “to make provision for the welfare of the young, and the treatment of young offenders and for the establishment of juvenile courts’. Under the terms of the children and young persons law (CYPL), there are three categories of children who may become involved with the juvenile justice system: children in conflict with the law (those who have committed crimes similar to adult crimes), children in need of care and protection (those who have been abandoned or left destitute by their parents, or children of criminals, beggars or destitutes), and children beyond parental control (those brought to the attention of the authorities by their parents and are alleged to have engaged in minor criminal activity as well as truancy and running away from home).

Institutional care for juveniles in Nigeria could be in remand homes, approved schools or borstal institutions. Remand homes serve as detention/ custody sites (maximum of 3 months) for juveniles awaiting trial, or disposal after a guilty verdict. Children in need of care and protection and children beyond parental control are also commonly kept in the remand home while a social inquiry report is being prepared. Approved schools are more permanent educational facilities for children in contact with juvenile justice where they are placed for at least 3 years, while Borstal institutions are specifically designated for the institutionalization of offenders and other categories of children between the ages of 16-21, for a period of about 5 years.

<sup>1. Street children and the juvenile justice system in Lagos state of Nigeria, A Nigerian Report. Human Development Initiatives. 2004.
2. CAP C38, 2004</sup>

Studies on juvenile justice systems in Nigeria reveal that these facilities were established for the purpose of reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles and as such facilities for vocational and formal educational instruction were put in place in order to realize these goals. These facilities however have undergone a marked deterioration since the 1980’s due to lack of proper policy, legal and institutional frameworks, gross under funding, inadequate staff, and lack of necessary training facilities.³

Inspite of these reports, little attention had been paid to the psychological wellbeing and eventual outcome of these children till date and they often lack access to mental health care. Moreover, recent studies suggest that about two thirds of youths involved with the juvenile justice system meet criteria for one or more psychiatric disorders, even after excluding conduct disorder. As an important step towards planning and providing mental health services for these children in Nigeria, the mental health needs of children and adolescents in a remand home facility in South West Nigeria were determined.

JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM : HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT⁴

The development of juvenile justice systems in Africa was shaped by a colonial legacy under which the legal framework in most of the countries mirrored laws received from the colonizing country— Britain in the case of Nigeria and most of Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa. This meant that a law received from the British, the Children and Young Persons Act of 1969, was the legal framework for dealing with issues affecting children, including juvenile crime, for over four decades after the independence. It was only recently that we witness and enact new law—the Children’s Act.

The new law and subsequent constitutional reform processes motivated the inclusion of a comprehensive children’s rights clauses. The reforms was impacted by normative legal standards regarding children’s rights (e.g., UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (“the CRC”)) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter), which Nigeria has ratified.

Historical development makes it apparent that the first organized and institutionalized form of Juvenile justice system was given birth to in faraway America, although, it is originally dated back to the middle ages when the church employed a system akin to this in tackling crimes and delinquencies, a system that was specially designed to house and treat all the limitations that comes with adolescence, one largely defined by such conducts that bespeaks nothing but immaturity and such other such as juvenile delinquencies with the major, if not only goal of rehabilitation. There exist no society without a trace, if not an inevitable heaps of juvenile conducts, after all, the youths are a part of every society while adolescence is an inevitable stage of every man’s life, a stage displaced in importance only by childhood.

<sup>3. Oloruntimehin O. The role of family structure in the development of delinquent behaviour among juveniles in Lagos. Nigerian Journal of Economics and Social Sciences. 1970;12:185–203
4. October 11, 2018, Justice System in Nigeria: A Necessary or a Luxury? – Terinwa Adesipo.</sup>

The juvenile justice system exist majorly to preserve the ever-continuing rationality and mental wellbeing of the child and the youths, while securing for them such basic right such as right to life and dignity, the system of which was ultimately created with the aim of preserving and rehabilitating the youths, a system so inventive and vital so much that it goes to root of the existence of every society. Let me clearly and unequivocally state that, there exist no justification for the commission of a crime but adolescents just like children are a “special” class of the society, those who are mostly defined by nothing but immaturity, mis (priority), and occasionally if not inevitably, a lack of sense of direction; the resultant effect of childishness.

The young are young, not only young at age but also at understanding the gravity that comes with the illegal acts they sometimes manifest, or of what effectiveness is going fishing with a loosely deficient fishing net, the fisherman should be rest assured of nothing but an empty basket after long hours of strenuous fishing; this in comparison with imprisoning a juvenile delinquent as well as treating them similarly as “grown” and fully matured delinquents is nothing but a futile attempt at reforming them. Simply put, a delinquent would hardly be rehabilitated and reformed by been sent behind bars or prison walls created specifically not for them, neither was it fashioned out in a way that reforms them; a place where they are become connected and mentored by “adult” criminals, a means that therefore contributes nothing to the rehabilitation and reformation of the child is therefore of no benefit to the child and even the society.

The criminal justice system as well as laws exist to regulate the actions of man in the society, but laws cannot be made to come alive without an efficient and effective administration of Justice system, an administration of justice system just like that of the Nigerian state that therefore derives delight in the imprisonment and incarceration of its juvenile as well as youths is a threat to its existence. It is so tragic seeing plethora of juveniles some of who are just too young to be being kept away behind the walls of the Nigeria Prison for crimes that can be considered minor when they can be reformed, trained and restored back to the society to live a life filled with purpose, fulfillment and defined by legality. It is now a pastime for such Nigerian law enforcement agency to jail juveniles as punishment for crimes that they could as well had been kept in retention centre, correctional facilities or reform homes or even just community service.

The Nigeria Criminal Justice system rather than logically battle this menace by creating a well structured justice system that reforms the child and rehabilitates the youth via such productive, effective and problem solving means such as an effective juvenile justice system, it proudly, unabashedly and immediately sends delinquent behind prison doors, with the message that there exist no room for juvenile delinquents (only rich and powerful adult delinquents) in Nigeria, this is nothing but an avowed disregard for living and existence, because as far as I checked, they are just kids who are a product of a society that glorifies “adult criminality”.

The Nigeria criminal Justice system is apparently and blatantly ill structured,⁵ one that neglects inventive and progressive means such as an effective juvenile justice system where rational, logical, rehabilitative and reforming modus are employed to tackling issues of delinquencies, while sending the message that life out there is only for “grown and mature” criminals. It is so disheartening to know that most Nigeria prisons shelters minors and juveniles, a chunk of whose crime can only be termed “minor” offences but who are now made to live away in the dark (v)alleys of the prison walls, as if this were not enough, they are treated and trained to be cruel and grown criminal, those who see the world only from the perspective of wickedness and hatred.  I think, nothing can more inspire cruelty and motivate wickedness in a young child than be made to go through such life threatening lessons from the dungeons of the prison walls, the resultant effect of which would end in nothing but destruction of such a society.

<sup>5. Adesipo Adeterinwa is a third year law student of the Faculty of Law, Lagos State University.
6. Criminology and Criminal Justice (Spectrum Books Limited Ibadan, Nigeria 2nd edition 2007)</sup>

In a bid to tackle this menace that comes with such juvenile offences, the Child Rights Act was birthed in Nigeria⁶, providing for such basic things such as the rights accrued to a juvenile when facing a criminal charges while furthermore providing for such other things such as a specialized Children police unit, to be created to exclusively deal with issues that concerns juvenile delinquencies, the reality of which is very much a castle in the air in today’s Nigeria. Sadly, or what can be said of a law that provides that the police or the prosecutor dealing with a case involving a child offender possess the power to dispose of a case without resorting to formal trial, but should necessarily employ such other helpful and reasonable alternatives such as supervision, guidance, restitution among innumerable others but the manifestation of which is not in any way done or seen to be done.

Juvenile justice system focuses on establishing a pattern of social justice for children brought before courts of law or otherwise coming into contact with the law. It seeks to provide separate courts and flexible alternatives to imprisonment.⁷ It proceeds on the premise that the rights and needs of children are different from those of adults and that this should be reflected in way they are treated. Juvenile justice therefore emphasises rehabilitation instead of punishment, prevention rather than retribution, as the principal goals of the justice system. Further, it advocates special procedures, distinct correctional facilities for children in conflict with the law and deinstitutionalization for minor offences. The above goals and features are captured in the Children and Young Persons Laws that are applicable in all the states of the Federation. Some states have also gone ahead to enact the Child Rights Law based on the Child Rights Act passed by the National Assembly in 2003. The Child Rights Act (Federal) and the Child Rights Laws (states) make elaborate provisions reflecting and reinforcing the unique goals and features of juvenile justice. The harsh reality however remains that children are commonly tried in the same courts as adults and are subjected to similar sentencing practices including incarceration for minor offences. Worse still, children from less privileged backgrounds often face harsher treatments than their counterparts from more privileged socio-economic circumstances.

It observes that the Nigerian criminal justice system has completely missed the road in the handling of juveniles. This is evident in the large population of children detained in adult prisons and the decrepit state of juvenile facilities across the country. The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) had already developed some indicators for assessing the effectiveness of juvenile justice systems around the world. An attempt to review the practices of the juvenile justice institutions in our focal states found that the Juvenile Justice System is the most neglected aspect of the justice system in Nigeria.⁹ This neglect is prevalent at both the federal and state levels. A study of the budget of the various Ministries of Justice shows that they made no provision for the implementation of any project in the area of juvenile justice. However, at the state levels, juvenile justice is grouped with social welfare and received only marginal attention. By classifying juvenile justice as social welfare, the system does not enjoy the same attention as the other aspects of the justice system. Social Welfare appears to be low on the list of government priorities. This practice of classifying child justice issues as social welfare creates an erroneous impression that there is no obligation on the part of the government to really fund it. Consequently, many facilities for child welfare depended mainly on gifts and handouts from charitable organizations. The report advocates better treatment of children through the proactive implementation of the standards embodied in the Child Rights Act, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and several other international instruments with a view to improving the welfare of children and reducing the number of those who might take to a lifestyle of criminality and threat to society in future.

<sup>7. Professor Yemi Akinseye-George Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Abuja, May 2009.
8. The UNICEF, Convention on the Rights of the Child. www.unicef in actiom.com 2ibid
9. Empey, L.T The social construction of childhood and juvenile justice. In the future of childhood and juvenile justice.L.T Empey, ed Charlottesville; University Press of Virginia, 1979, pp. 138-74.</sup>

Practical Measures proposed include:¹⁰

1. Passage of Child Rights Bill into law by all States of the Federation and proactive implementation of its child justice provisions by the twenty two states that have already passed it;
2. Reform of CYPL of Kano State by extracting the provisions of the CRA pertaining to child justice administration and incorporating them into the CYPL until such a time that the State would be able to overcome the current opposition to the passage of the CRL.
3. Public enlightenment on the CRA aimed at promoting a better understanding of its provisions and the rationale behind them.
4. Removal of all children from detention places and relocation to suitable accommodations to be provided by the government in accordance with the provisions of the Child Rights Act and CRL as may be appropriate.

5. Establishment of conciliation-oriented family courts to handle cases involving children in accordance with the principles embodied in international human rights instruments and guidelines for the treatment of children and provisions of the CRA or CRL.

6. Value re-orientation of Youths by government and civil society actors through educational and enlightenment campaigns and other activities designed to improve the values of young people, improve their personality, talents, mental and physical abilities to the fullest.
7. Improved dissemination of the CRC and Riyadh Guidelines by the various Ministries of Social Development. Any prospective child justice worker must be adequately educated about all the applicable international instruments. Since most law faculties and the Nigerian Law School do not teach child rights, any lawyer or magistrate who is to be engaged in child justice implementation must undergo a course in child rights law.
8. Development of a comprehensive multi-sector perspective planning by the federal and state governments for the prevention of child and youth crime. The objective of such a plan would be to mobilise and coordinate all stakeholders toward the prevention of delinquency. The plan should also involve inter-ministerial collaboration under the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Youth and Social Development.
9. Overhauling and upgrading of existing juvenile institutions before being integrated into the institutions established by the CRA for the implementation of that law.

• Periodic nation-wide audit of Juvenile facilities and progress tracking and performance rating.

11. Capacity-building by federal and state governments for the development of a new, informed and well-motivated corps of child justice administrators and children police unit with specialised skills for administering the provisions of the CRA or CRL as the case may be.
12. Greater emphasis on Family-based juvenile welfare that emphasizes the role of families in preventing delinquency and facilitating the rehabilitation of children leaving detention in preference to formal judicial and legalistic interventionist measures. The Child Rights Act has introduced far-reaching innovations which could completely transform the administration of child justice in the country. Already, the provisions of the Act have been enacted into the local law of no less than twenty two states. The challenge however is to move beyond mere enactment of the legal provisions.

^{10. Ladan, M.T, A Handbook on Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria: Women and Children’s Rights in Focus(League of Democratic Women (LEADS-NIGERIA) Kaduna, 2005) pp.119-120}

Consequently, the policies,¹¹ laws and procedures which apply generally to adults are tempered when children and young persons come into conflict with the law. Until recently, the term, ‘juvenile justice’ was used to describe the branch of criminal law which deals with cases involving children and young persons. It was observed that the boundary between juvenile justice administration and the general criminal justice administration was increasingly becoming smaller. Children and young persons in conflict with the law were routinely handled and treated as adults and subjected to procedures which ought to be applied only to adults.  For instance, a recent report on the Port Harcourt prisons stated as follows:“ No fewer that 200 juveniles are currently languishing in Port Harcourt Prison as they have been put behind bars amongst over 2,400 inmates, in (sic) which over 1,800 of the adults and children are awaiting trial.”

The report¹² added that the State Government has concluded plans to transfer the adolescents to a juvenile home in Port Harcourt as part of the reformation and rehabilitation of the youths so that they can become better citizens in future. The Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mr. Joe Phillip Poroma disclosed after inspecting the prison but did not state the offences of the children before they were lumped in the jail house with hardened criminals. However, our Although this remains a common usage, the trend is now to use the term ‘child justice’ instead of ‘juvenile justice’. ¹³

The non-existence of comprehensive and reliable data from the prisons makes it difficult to ascertain the magnitude of the problem of detention of children in adult prisons. Reports from the prisons, the media and NGOs as well as stories of Police parading teenage armed robbery suspects on television indicate that the percentage of children in Nigerian prisons may be in the region of 40% or more of the total prison population. This estimation takes account of children who are arbitrarily assigned adult ages by the Police in order to justify their detention in police cells and in adult prisons as there are often no facilities for separate detention of children.¹⁴

<sup>11. Unicef, Children’s and Women’s Rights, op. cit.4The Vanguard, September 5, 2008 p.10
12. National Prison Audit (2007-2008) by the National Human Rights Commission in collaboration with UNDP and NORAD 2008, p.15.6
13. Ayua & Okagbue, The Rights of the Child in Nigeria (Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Lagos,, 1996)
14. Ogungbe, M.O, (Ed.), Nigerian Law: Contemporary Issues, Essays in Honour of Sir, Chief (Dr) G.O Igbinedion, (College of Law, Igbinedion University, Okada) P.337</sup>

A Review of Laws on Administration of Juvenile Justice in Nigeria¹⁵

The relevant laws pertaining to juvenile justice in these jurisdictions are:

7. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria2(CFRN):This is the fundamental law of the country by reference to which the validity of all other laws are determined.
8. The Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), a federal statute that specifically provides for children and young persons. It was the first law in Nigeria that dealt with matters relating to children and young persons. Following the passage of the CRA, the CYPA has now been superseded. Section 274 of the CRA provides that any provision of any other law pertaining to children that are inconsistent with the CRA shall be void to the extent of its inconsistency.
9. The Children and Young Persons Law (CYPL) the local statute that used to apply in all the focal states has now been repealed in Lagos and Plateau States. It continues to apply in Kano and Rivers States. Promulgation Act¹⁶
10. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)is an international instrument that deals comprehensively with virtually all matters concerning children. It makes special provisions for children in conflict with the law and how they are to be handled. Nigeria ratified the convention in 1991 and hence it is operational in the country.6Reference has already been made in chapter 2 to this and other international instruments that are applicable to Nigeria.
11. The Child’s Rights Act (CRA): Following the ratification of the UNCRC, the CRA was enacted in Nigeria as a Federal statute. Its application is however limited to the Federal Capital Territory being a law concerning children, a residual matter within the legislative competence of the states. In order to apply in the states, each state may either enact a local equivalent of the CRA or make it directly applicable in the state as is the current practice in Rivers State where we found that the state prosecutes certain offences directly under the Child Rights Act as the need arises.
12. Criminal Code Law¹⁸:cases involving children in conflict with the law are always criminal in nature and are therefore within the scope of the substantive UN General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of November 20, 1989 Act Cap C23, LFN 2007, Act No 26, Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette Vol. 90 No1168Cap 17, Laws of Lagos 2003 in Nigeria provisions of the Criminal Code in Lagos and Rivers States and the Penal Code in Kano and Plateau States as well as the FCT.
13. The Police Act¹⁸: when children come in conflict with the law their first form of contact with the system is usually through the police. This brings the Police Act into operation subject to other relevant laws described above.
14. Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2006¹⁹: This is the procedural law that regulates criminal procedure in Lagos State. Although it deals mainly with general criminal procedure which usually involves adults, some of its provisions impinge on the trial of children.
15. Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)²⁰ and the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA): The CPC applies to the procedural aspects of a normal criminal trial of adult offenders in the F.C.T, Kano and Plateau States whilst the CPA applies in Rivers State to the procedural aspects of a normal criminal trial of adults. However, some provisions of these procedural laws apply to the trial of children and young persons. The juvenile justice system takes into account all these laws when dealing with children. These laws are interwoven and sometimes cannot be separated from one another in practical situations. Relevant provisions will be highlighted in the course of this work. Cap P19 LFN 2003(Formerly Cap. 359, LFN, 1990)

<sup>15. “The Law and the Imprisonment of Children” International Conventions and Declarations on the subject.  Professor M.O Adediran 2003.
16. Cap C23, LFN 2007 Amended in 1945, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1955 and 1958 Cap 10 Laws of Lagos States 2003 Juvenile Justice in Nigeria.
17. CAP C36 LFN 2014.
18. CAP P 14, LFN 2014
19. ADJA, 2016
20.  CPC</sup>

 3 STAGES OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION

The juvenile justice system can be divided into three stages. These stages differentiate the phases which a child offender passes through.

1. The Pre-Trial Stage, b. The Trial Stage ^{and C}, The Post-Trial Stage.

The Pre-Trial Stage: This is where the juvenile first comes in direct contact with the justice system. When a juvenile comes into contact with the law enforcement agencies, the juvenile offender should be managed in such a way as to respect the legal status of the juvenile, promote his or her well being and avoid harm to him or her with regard to the circumstances of the case.

The pre-trial stage consists of arrest, detention and processing of bail.

—Arrest The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Section 35(1), guarantees the right to personal liberty of every person. Accordingly no body shall be deprived of his or her liberty, save in certain circumstances and in accordance with a procedure permitted by law. Similarly, the right to life is guaranteed save in limited exceptions one of which is “in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained”.²¹

Although the Constitution does not specifically mention children it is clear that the section also applies to children. The Police Act and the various criminal procedure laws empower the police to arrest a person including a child who is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence.¹²Therefore, the police may arrest any person who commits an offence in his presence.¹³Usually the procedure for effecting an arrest requires that a police officer actually touches or confines the body of the person to be arrested unless there is a submission to the custody by word or action. An arrested person is not to be subjected to unnecessary restraint except in certain circumstances.²² The use of force is only allowed where the offender resists or attempts to evade the arrest.¹⁵However a person making an arrest can only use such force as may be reasonably necessary to overcome any force used in resisting an arrest. Where a person authorized by law to use force uses excessive force, such a person would be criminally liable. However, when dealing with children, the laws do not specifically deal with the manner by which children ²³

Juvenile Justice in Nigeria37 should be arrested. However, the UNCRC provides that the arrest of a child should be carried out in conformity with the law.¹⁶ Therefore, the arrest of a child should be in accordance with the relevant statutes which are in operation in each state. The Constitution recognises three exceptional circumstances when the constitutional right to personal liberty of persons including children in conflict may be inoperative. These are:

(i)For the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court or upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed a criminal offence or to such extent as may be reasonably necessary to prevent his committing a criminal offence;²⁴

(ii)In the case of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years, for the purpose of his education or welfare

(iii)… or vagrants, for the purpose of their care or treatment or the protection of the community.²⁵

CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD²⁶

In the light of the evaluation in this paper on the state of juvenile justice administration in Nigeria, and considering the inadequacies unraveled by all analysis, the following measures are recommended as the way forward in juvenile justice administration:

2. Implementation of the Law: -It is found in this paper that the promulgation of the CRA in 2003 by the National Assembly has enhanced the position of the child in juvenile justice administration by incorporating most of the laudable provisions of the CRC as well as the ACRWC. The CRA has, to a large extent, cured most of the deficiencies in juvenile justice administration not only in some part but also in Nigeria as a whole. What remains now is to achieve optimum effect by faithfully enforcing or implementing the provisions of the law. Government of states in Nigeria should therefore take a positive step in implementing the law in order to realize the purpose/aim of enacting the law, which is to create a better philosophy of juvenile justice administration for the good and welfare of the child. Akin to this recommendation is the need for reform and to make amendments in areas where the law is still deficient. The CYPL in many respects still violate several international conventions, charters, rules and guidelines on the rights and welfare of the juvenile. Government should move the legislature in amending those aspects of the law in order to bring them up to the required standard. The philosophy of juvenile justice should be explicitly stated to conform to relevant international standards and the provision for flogging or whipping should be expunged as it constitutes a cruel punishment and degrading treatment of the child.
3. Preventing Juveniles from Coming into Conflict with the Law: -The existing philosophy of juvenile justice in Nigeria views juvenile offenders as objects of control and punishment. More significantly, it lacks a focus on prevention of juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile justice is not incorporated into social (especially family, child welfare, health and education) and economic (employment, vocational training and skill acquisition) planning in Nigeria. For a friendly and more effective juvenile justice administration, it is recommended that the philosophy of juvenile justice should be anchored on the provisions for social and economic welfare of the child and the prevention of juvenile delinquency. Prevention is better than cure.
4. Training and Capacity Building: -It was observed that agencies in the juvenile justice system in Nigeria lack adequate and qualified personnel that are able to meet the needs, concerns and aspirations of juvenile offenders. The CRA and other laws have made bold provisions for the training of all personnel involved in juvenile justice administration. It is therefore recommended that all juvenile justice system personnel – the police, social/probation workers, child development workers, lawyers, court workers, prison staff, magistrates and judges should receive rigorous training in human rights and child rights as well as in the management of the welfare of the juvenile. Trainings, workshops/conferences should be organized to sensitize the police, prosecutors, magistrates, judges, child welfare and ministry officials as well as the general public including parents and guardians. In this regard, government, civil societies, philanthropists and the general public should partner for the provision of facilities and services/training for the development and welfare of juveniles. All should also be active in monitoring the conditions in juvenile justice institution and advocacy for progressive, correctional, rehabilitation and non-custodial programs for the treatment of juvenile offenders.
5. Funding: – The effective realization of an acceptable juvenile justice system in terms as discussed in this paper and which accords with international standards, depends to a large extent on the availability of funds. For various reasons, it appears that government alone cannot provide the required funding. Therefore, it is recommended that the private sector, civil society and all stakeholders should join forces with government to improve the current situation. There is also a need for the formation of a working group with leaders of civil society which will assist government with developing a strategy for adequate funding of the juvenile justice system.
6. The Media: -It is recommended that partnership must be developed with the media to promote advocacy messages regarding child’s rights, restorative justice and the importance of prevention, diversion and alternatives to detention of juvenile offenders, to report any derogation of the rights of the child, to publicize positive outcomes with young offenders, and to encourage community level support for vulnerable children and young people. This is because the importance of the media information dissemination cannot be over-emphasized. It is believed that if these recommendations are effectively implemented, there will be created an effective juvenile justice administration environment in which children and young persons can grow and blossom.

<sup>21. Adeyemi, A.A., “Juvenile Justice Evaluation, policies and Programmes” Okonkwo, C.O.(ed), Contemporary Issues in Nigerian Law, Essay in Honour of Judge Bola Ajibola(1992) p.45
22. Okonkwo,C.O.,Nwankwoc., and Ibhawoh, I, Administration of Juvenile Justice in Nigeria(Constitutional Rights Project,1997)
23. Section 33(2)(b)12Section 20 of the Police Act Cap P19 LFN 200313SeeSection3, CPL, Cap. 22 Laws of Kano State14Section 4 of the CPL 15SeeAdministration of Criminal Justice Lawof Lagos 2006.
24. Okonkwo, C.O.,SAN (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Nigerian Law: Essays in Honour of Judge Bola Ajibola (Toma Micro Publishers, Lagos 1992): p. 396.
25. A Handbook on Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria: Women and Children’s Rights Mohammed T. Ladan (2005),
26. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/naujilj/article/download/136329/125819</sup>