Residents of the South-South have called for the establishment of remand homes in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, while decrying the deplorable condition of the existing facility in Rivers.
The residents made the demand while reacting to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey on the condition of remand homes in the region.
They condemned the detention of children in conflict with the law in the same facilities with adults in correctional centres, and called for separate homes for juveniles.
Speaking in Calabar, Mr Kebe Ikpi, Coordinator of the Child Protection Network (CPN) in Cross River, said the remand home constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Calabar was currently occupied by the police.
Ikpi said although the NDDC had handed over the structure to the Ministry of Social Welfare, the police had refused to vacate the facility despite several appeals.
*“One of the former Commissioners of Police promised to vacate his men within two weeks, but before the deadline, he was transferred out of the state. This has been the trend over the years.
“This situation has contributed to child offenders being detained alongside adults in correctional centres, which is not ideal,”* he said.
He explained that a remand home should provide an environment where child offenders could receive counselling, learn skills, and be rehabilitated before reintegration into society.
Similarly, Dr Blessing Ntamu, a psychologist with the University of Calabar and a gender-based violence (GBV) expert, recalled that Cross River had remand homes in the past but currently had none.
She stressed that it was wrong to put children in the same detention facilities with adult criminals.
*“The whole idea of a remand home is to make children better before reintroducing them into the society after they have been found wanting by the law.
“In a city like Calabar, where there are many street children, such a facility is critical in rehabilitating delinquents,”* she said.
Also, CSP Philomena Modor, Officer in charge of the Gender Unit, Cross River Police Command, said that in the absence of a remand home, child offenders were kept in temporary shelters such as orphanages pending family court hearings.
She said children charged with serious crimes such as murder or rape were sometimes held in police facilities for their own safety.
“Releasing such children into the society may expose them to mob attack; in such cases, we keep them in our office,” she explained.
In her reaction, Mrs Margaret Ene-Ita, Commissioner for Social Welfare in Cross River, said the state ran a motherless babies’ home and a remand home in Uwanse, Calabar. She, however, declined to comment on rehabilitation modalities or follow-up actions with the police.
In Rivers, residents called for urgent rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Remand Home, describing it as overcrowded and dilapidated.
Mr Adija Allwel, a public servant, said the facility, which is under the State Ministry of Youth Development, had long served as the only remand home for juveniles awaiting trial or sentencing.
She said the home was poorly equipped, understaffed, and unable to meet the basic needs of the inmates.
*“The home is supposed to provide rehabilitation such as skills training, education, counselling, and psychological support to enhance behavioural change.
“It should also cater for basic needs like food, health, shelter, and reintegration of freed inmates. Sadly, these goals are far from being achieved,”* Allwel said.
A Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Mr Ikpanta Samuel, said the government needed to expand and upgrade the facility, especially in the area of skills training, to address the problem of overcrowding.
He linked the rising rate of juvenile offences to peer influence, internet exposure, and a decline in disciplinary culture.
Similarly, a rights activist, Mrs Boma George, said the remand home should strengthen collaboration with the Nigeria Correctional Service to ensure coordinated rehabilitation.
She said such synergy would help address overcrowding, improve welfare, and align facility management with national juvenile justice reforms.
George, however, lamented poor stakeholder cooperation and inadequate staff training, which she said were limiting the effectiveness of the home.
In Akwa Ibom, Mr Richard Metong, Assistant Superintendent of Corrections and spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in the state, said there were no remand homes, but borstal institutions existed.
According to him, borstals serve as open training camps for minor offenders and provide both skills acquisition and education.
“The children are engaged in agricultural activities and have access to formal education from primary up to secondary school and even the National Open University of Nigeria,” he said.
He explained that in the absence of remand homes, some child offenders were sent to orphanages to await trial.
Metong added that the NCS maintained collaboration with parents due to the children’s age and had been in discussions with the state government for facility upgrades.
NAN reports that remand homes are designed to provide safe and supervised environments for juveniles before their cases are resolved, focusing on rehabilitation, reformation, and resocialisation rather than punishment.
(NAN)