Professional Review of Prison Rehabilitation Programmes and Recidivism in Lagos State Correctional Centres

Prison rehabilitation programmes are theoretically central to the restorative function of the Nigerian Correctional Service, yet the evidence base for programme effectiveness in reducing recidivism in Lagos State facilities remains professionally underexamined. This study conducts a professional review of rehabilitation programmes and their relationship to recidivism outcomes at three correctional centres in Lagos State, South West Nigeria. A professional case study methodology was employed, combining document review of rehabilitation programme records at Ikoyi, Kirikiri Medium Security, and Kirikiri Female Correctional Centres with structured interviews conducted with twenty-eight correctional officers, twelve programme facilitators, and forty recently released former inmates. Recidivism data were obtained through collaboration with Lagos State Judiciary records. Findings indicate that vocational training programmes were operational at all three facilities but enrollment capacity covered only 34% of the inmate population. Literacy programmes had the highest enrollment participation but were chronically underfunded and delivered by volunteers without formal pedagogical training. Psychological rehabilitation and counseling were available only at the Kirikiri Female Centre. Recidivism rates among former inmates who completed vocational training were 28% lower than among untrained counterparts over a three-year post-release tracking period. Programme completion was significantly lower among inmates serving sentences of less than two years due to insufficient time for full programme engagement. Recommendations include mandatory enrollment in basic literacy and vocational programmes for all long-sentence inmates, professionalisation of correctional programme facilitation, and post-release employment linkage programmes in Lagos. Keywords: prison rehabilitation, recidivism, Lagos State, correctional service, vocational training.