RJ Professional Spotlight
With less than a month to wait until the commencement of the RJ World eConference, we thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight different speakers and their issues from across the globe. In this article, we draw our reader’s attention to restorative justice and professionals in Nigeria. Over the days of RJ World, we will be hearing from experts and practitioners, who are leading the way in restorative justice practice and research in this country.
Professor Don John Omale PhD, a British Chevening scholar, is eager to share about the future of restorative justice in Nigeria considering legislative revisions that have occurred at a national level. Other speakers from Nigeria also include Kelvin Ugwuoke and Osariemen Omoruyi who are both speaking on the rise of restorative justice practice in their country.
Similar to many countries across the globe, Nigeria has gained much of its modern legal and political framework from English heritage, dating back to when it first gained independence in 1960. Ever since then much of the focus of Nigeria’s criminal justice system has been on retributive goals. However, with a new governmental head and a broader research base, government policy is starting to shift in this country towards a restorative foundation and framework.
Osariemen Omoruyi who is a restorative justice advocate and current leader of REJA, a social profit organisation committed to the development of restorative justice practice in Nigeria and greater Africa, will be sharing with us a presentation that will highlight the possibilities and opportunities for restorative justice practices to be enshrined into the Nigerian criminal justice system.
Kelvin Ugwuoke is a psychologist and criminologist who will share with us his experiences working in and around the Nigerian Correctional Service. It is important to consider the practical manifestations and implications of justice theories and programs.
It will be exciting to hear the unique perspective and stories that each of our presenters will offer. Each will show us fresh insights and introduce us to the criminal justice system and restorative justice in Nigeria. In this context, restorative justice has much room and potential for success, when we consider the massive overcrowding of the local prisons. Unlike retributive practice, restorative justice initiatives lead to lower recidivism and a growing number of healed relationships.
Keep a lookout for these speakers over the course of the RJ World eConference!
