The Lagos state Ministry of Justice Thursday said 27,529 offenders have passed through its Community Service Unit (CSU) since its establishment in 2012, with 5,440 offenders supervised and rehabilitated between 2023 and 2025.
The figures were announced at a stakeholders’ sensitisation programme on community service organised by the CSU in collaboration with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), with support from the European Union.
Speaking through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr. Adebayo Haroun, who represented the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, and the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Mr. Hameed Oyenuga, the ministry called for stronger support from corporate organisations, civil society groups, faith-based institutions and community leaders.
Haroun said assessments of the scheme showed high compliance rates, reduced prison congestion and cost savings from reduced short-term incarceration.
He stated: “Many offenders who may have entered a cycle of custodial detention have instead been given an opportunity to undertake constructive work, acquire discipline and maintain social stability while serving their sentences.”