A SURVEY REHABILITATION PROGRAMMES FOR INMATES IN KUJE MEDIUM SECURITY CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ABUJA, NORTH CENTRAL, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the rehabilitation of inmates in Kuje Medium Security Correctional Service Abuja, North Central, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the effects of the rehabilitation programmes on the lives of the inmates, identify the existing policies of rehabilitation programmes and to find out if condition in the correctional centre or access to basic needs affects inmate’s participation in the rehabilitation programmes. The study adopted the reformative theory as the theoretical orientation. Mixed methods research design was used for the study. Questionnaire and In-Depth Interview (IDI) Guide were the qualitative instruments of data collection used in this study. A sample size of 150 was used in the study and the target population consisted convicted inmates. Data collected from the questionnaire were processed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Findings of the study indicated that while the programmes will impact positively on the lives of inmates on their reintegration into the society, they were fairly successful due to lack of funds and equipment. Also, findings of the study showed that Kuje Medium Security Correctional Services has not successfully achieved the rehabilitate inmates to be good and useful citizens instead the traditional punitive method is still very much in practice. Therefore, the study recommends that Correctional Service should be adequately funded to acquire state of the arts equipment to enhance effective rehabilitation of inmates.