Prison Reform and Operational Efficiency in Lafia Correctional Centre, 2015-2023

Mohammed Haruna Ladan; Stephen N. Azom PhD

doi:10.56201/jpslr.vol.12.no6.2026.pg43.60

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Prison Reform and Operational Efficiency in Lafia Correctional Centre, 2015-2023

Mohammed Haruna Ladan, Stephen N. Azom PhD

Abstract

This study examines prison reform and operational efficiency in the Lafia Correctional Centre between 2015 and 2023. The study is anchored on Systems Theory and adopts a qualitative research design. Data were generated from Key Informant Interviews and secondary sources such as textbooks, journal articles, policy documents, and official reports of the Nigerian Correctional Service. The KIIs involved 30 respondents comprising correctional officers, administrative staff, rehabilitation officers, and other relevant stakeholders selected through purposive sampling. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings reveal that prison reforms introduced during the period were largely influenced by the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 and focused on rehabilitation, infrastructural development, vocational training, staff capacity building, and non-custodial measures. The study further found that these reforms led to moderate improvements in operational efficiency, particularly in administrative coordination, rehabilitation service delivery, and inmate management. However, persistent challenges such as overcrowding, inadequate funding, infrastructural deficits, poor staffing levels, and weak inter-agency coordination significantly limited the effectiveness of reforms. The study concludes that while prison reforms have improved operational efficiency in the Lafia Correctional Centre, the gains remain constrained by systemic and structural challenges within the broader criminal justice system. It recommends increased funding, expansion of rehabilitation programmes, full implementation of non-custodial sentencing, and improved inter-agency coordination as key strategies for enhancing correctional efficiency.

Keywords

Prison ReformOperational EfficiencyCorrectional CentreRehabilitationLafia.

References

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Prison Reform and Operational Efficiency in Lafia Correctional Centre, 2015-2023

Abstract

Keywords

References

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