Inmates awaiting trial congest prisons

The Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) has confirmed that majority (66 per cent) of inmates in Nigerian prisons are awaiting trial as at December 15, 2017.

The Controller General of the Service, Jaafaru Ahmed, revealed this at the quarterly meeting of the Penal Reform Media Network (PERMNET) in Lagos.

“As of today December 15, 2017, the current population of prisoners in Nigeria is put at 72,384 with 48,527 of the figure are the awaiting trial inmates. The awaiting trial inmates therefore constitute about 66 percent of the prison population,” said NPS spokesperson Francis Enobore, representing the CG.

Jaafaru urged for more collaboration of relevant agencies of government in addressing the plight of awaiting trial inmates.

“There is a need for more collaboration among the three arms of the criminal justice system to enhance synergy so that anybody brought to prison as awaiting trial, the case will be determined as quickly as possible. The other arms have to do their part so that there would be quick dispensation of justice.”

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He also commended Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, PRAWA, for spearheading the campaigns towards the decongestion of prison facilities through advocacy campaigns and consultative meetings.

PRAWA’s Chief Executive Officer Uju Agomoh listed some factors militating against the decongestion of the prison.

“To address the plight of awaiting trial inmates, the stakeholders should address the seeming lack of speedy trial, overuse of imprisonment by the courts, abuse of arrest powers and bail conditions by the police and inadequate prison structures,” she said.

The quarterly meeting which was hosted by PRAWA suggested that prison facilities should be mandated to only accept persons into detention for whom there is a legal warrant authorising imprisonment and also speeding up the trial process so that detainees spend less time in pre-trial detention.

The meeting also deliberated on issues relating to adaptation of criminal procedure codes so that judges rather than prosecutors make the decision about pre-trial detention.

Permnet is a network of journalists and media experts aimed at Creating Awareness, Advocating for Implementation and Replication of Good Prison and Correctional Practices in Nigeria.

The network is a major output of the fourth component of the Prison Reform Project.