RISK-NEEDS-RESPONSIVITY IN NIGERIA: HOW MODERN REHABILITATION THEORY CAN WORK IN THE NIGERIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract

Nigeria's correctional system is characterized by significant institutional contradictions. The Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 (NCSA), repealed the Colonial Act and officially changed the name of the Nigerian Prisons Service to the Nigerian Correctional Services. The Act shifted the institutional mandate from purely punitive enforcement to comprehensive offender reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration. However, Since the enactment of the Act, Nigeria continues to record different challenges such as persistent increase in recidivism between 52% to 75%, correctional facilities stretched to about 124% from the original capacity designed for them, severe deficit in the professional workforce, and the absence of risk assessment instruments. These challenges undermine the main objectives of establishing correctional services in Nigeria. It might be argued that cultural resistance or limited resources in Nigeria present insurmountable obstacles to the adaptation of modern rehabilitation models. While these concerns are important, the evidence suggests that institutional and structural barriers, rather than deep-seated cultural obstacles, remain the primary impediments to reform. The article contends that the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) model is adaptable to Nigeria's unique socio-legal, cultural, and institutional context. Section 10(1)(e) of the NCSA 2019, which mandates risk and needs assessment, provides the statutory basis for such adaptation. This issue holds immediate constitutional and legislative significance: the NCSA 2019 imposes enforceable rehabilitation obligations, and non-implementation constitutes an ongoing statutory failure. The article is based on three theoretical frameworks, namely - The General Personality and Cognitive Social Learning (GPCSL) framework, which is used to identify the Central Eight criminogenic needs as the primary targets of correctional interventions. The family and community networks can be used as post-release reintegration supports, and the perspective to engage them is provided by desistance theory, which is associated with Laub and Sampson, and Maruna's narrative reconstruction approach. The responsivity principle in Nigeria is developed through the reintegrative shaming theory that is rooted in the African community-based justice system traditions as presented by Braithwaite, which also aligns with the communal system in Africa. Key drivers of recidivism in Nigeria, such as substance abuse, antisocial peer networks, unemployment, and educational deficits, align with the RNR model's central eight criminogenic needs. Comparative evidence from Singapore, South Africa, and Kenya demonstrates that this meaningful RNR adaptation is achievable within a decade in similar jurisdictions, even under resource constraints. The article proposes a phased implementation framework based on five legislative reforms, formal inter-agency collaboration, a dedicated Correctional Trust Fund, and a university-led National Correctional Research Unit.