Tag: access to justice
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Tag: access to justice

REJA LAUNCHES 1ST TRANSITIONAL SHELTER FOR FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSONS IN NASARAWA STATE

Restorative Justice for Africa (REJA Initiative) is excited to unveil the first-ever Halfway Home and transitional shelter for formerly incarcerated individuals in Nasarawa State.

This groundbreaking initiative marks a major leap forward in reimagining justice in Nigeria, offering dignity, direction, and hope to formerly incarcerated persons who were unjustly detained or have no family or home to return to.

The facility, named “Restored Voices Shelter,” was officially launched on the 3rd of July 2025 at a ceremony in Ado, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State drawing key players from across the criminal justice sector including the Chief Judge of Nasarawa State, Hon. Justice Aisha Bashir-Aliyu ably represented by Mr. Yahaya Shafa, The Non-custodial Directorate of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Dr. Oluwatoyin Badejogbin, the Country Director of #ROLAC, Mr. Jacob Tsado, the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship International, Nigerian Chapter, Aisha Abdullahi Bubah, Executive Director of The Sunshine Series- Mind wellness, Barr. Ubose Olorunfemi, human rights enthusiast and Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Mr. Rafiu Adeniran Lawal, Executive Director of Building Blocks for Peace
Foundation, our distinguished board member, Mr. Israel Usman, Mr. David Babatunde from the Nigerian Correctional Service, Keffi, community members and a number of other officers from the Nigerian Correctional Service, Nassarawa State.

Another highlight of the occasion was the launch of a Model Practice Direction on Restorative Justice for Nigerian Courts, alongside a guided tour of the newly completed shelter.

The Restored Voices Shelter is a post-incarceration transition facility, designed to bridge the reintegration gap that plagues Nigeria’s criminal justice system. For years, REJA has provided critical legal aid and restorative justice interventions to indigent and wrongfully detained persons. But in the course of the work, there was a painful realisation; there was very little aftercare support for people re-entering society after incarceration. The Restored Voices Shelter is our answer to this problem, it is a safe, supportive space for transformation.

The Restored Voices Shelter is envisioned as a self-sustaining halfway home, led by formerly incarcerated individuals and tailored to provide temporary housing, psychosocial support, vocational training, and life-skills counselling.

The initiative is part of REJA’s broader mission to close the justice and inequality gap and reform Nigeria’s criminal justice system by tackling the root causes of injustice and repeat offending, particularly among indigent and wrongfully detained persons.

If you believe in second chances, true justice, and healing through community, we invite you to partner with us. Let’s restore voices and rewrite futures together.

REJA WINS ANOTHER HUMAN RIGHTS BATTLE AGAINST UNJUST INCARCERATION AS COURT AWARDS 2 MILLION NAIRA DAMAGES AGAINST COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, NASARAWA STATE

A High Court sitting at Uke, Nasarawa State has awarded the sum of 2 Million Naira in damages against the Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa for the unlawful and continuous detention of Mr. Stephen Jonah who has been in Keffi Maximum Security Correctional Facility since 2022.

The REJA Team met the Applicant during one of its routine visits to the Keffi Correctional Centre and immediately swung into action by filing a fundamental rights enforcement case on his behalf. The case between Stephen Jonah and Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State and the Attorney General of Nasarawa State with Suit No: NSD/MG610/2023 was filed before the Court on the 5th of December 2023.

The Court in its judgement held that the Nasarawa Police Command ‘failed to comply with the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Nasarawa State’ and wrongfully violated the Applicant’s right to freedom and dignity as a Nigerian Citizen. The Court further ordered the unconditional release of Mr. Stephen Jonah from the Keffi Correctional Centre.

The court’s decision is a significant victory for justice and human rights. We call upon the Attorney General of Nasarawa State and the Assistant Controller of Corrections, Nasarawa State to comply with the court’s order and release Stephen Jonah immediately.

Every week, volunteer lawyers and paralegals visit correctional facilities across Nigeria as a strong commitment to improving access to justice for indigent inmates who have been trapped in the justice system and forgotten by the ones who swore to protect their rights. We reiterate our commitment to people who have been abandoned behind bars simply for being poor and having no one to speak for them.

We urge all stakeholders in the criminal justice system to play their part in ensuring the human rights of persons are respected and the criminal laws of the country are followed strictly.

The disturbing trend of law enforcement agents remanding and forgetting people behind bars for years only to file unsubstantiated charges when a fundamental rights action is instituted must be strongly condemned and discouraged.

Ibrahim’s Freedom Achieved Through Restorative Justice

In the small town of Evbuoriaria, a young man named Ibrahim (pseudo) found himself trapped in a web of accusations. On that fateful day, he stood before the Evbuoriaria Magistrates’ Court, charged with stealing a tricycle—a crime he vehemently denied committing. The weight of uncertainty and fear settled upon his shoulders as he pleaded not guilty…………………