The ‘beyond parental control’ label in Nigeria

Recent reports in Nigeria indicate a geometric rise in incarcerated adolescents, with an overwhelming majority of this increase being attributed to adolescents being declared ‘beyond parental control’. There is a nagging suspicion that the Nigerian juvenile justice system has over criminalised adole...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of law and psychiatry 2014-05, Vol.37 (3), p.313-319
Main Authors: Atilola, Olayinka, Omigbodun, Olayinka, Bella-Awusah, Tolulope
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent boys
Adolescents
Behavioural problems
Beyond parental control
Borstal home
Child
Child Abuse - diagnosis
Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Child abuse/neglect
Confidence Intervals
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Justice
Juvenile courts
Juvenile Delinquency - legislation & jurisprudence
Juvenile justice
Male
Nigeria
Odds Ratio
Parental control
Parenting
Parents
Prisons
Self Report
Young Adult
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Summary:Recent reports in Nigeria indicate a geometric rise in incarcerated adolescents, with an overwhelming majority of this increase being attributed to adolescents being declared ‘beyond parental control’. There is a nagging suspicion that the Nigerian juvenile justice system has over criminalised adolescents by declaring them ‘beyond control’ when behavioural problems have actually resulted from child abuse/neglect and family disruption. A study was undertaken in a juvenile justice institution in Nigeria to assess the adequacy of pre-incarceration parental care among adolescents that had been declared as ‘beyond parental control’. The study included 75 adolescent boys that had been declared as ‘beyond parental control’ and a comparison group of 144 matched school going boys. It examined self-reports received from the adolescent boys regarding their pre-incarceration family life and social circumstances, as well as the behavioural problems they had experienced. The findings indicate that adolescent boys who were declared as ‘beyond parental control’ had a significantly higher lifetime history of behavioural problems than the comparison group, and they also had significantly higher indicators of pre-incarceration child abuse/neglect and problems with stability and consistency of primary support. These findings pose questions regarding the presumption of adequate parental care prior to the declaration of ‘beyond parental control’. It also raises questions about child rights protection and juvenile justice reform in Nigeria.
ISSN:0160-2527
1873-6386
DOI:10.1016/j.ijlp.2013.11.017