* Prison congestion in Nigeria is a national scandal – President Muhammadu Buhari The above statement is one of the truest statements I have heard the President say and I agree with him. But I disagree with his remedy, the claim that the judiciary is to blame. Nevertheless, I commend him for admitting our congested prisons are a disgrace. One doesn’t need to visit a Nigerian prison to appreciate what the President said. But a visit would convince one that the Nigerian prisons are in a dire situation. I have been to two prisons; one in Enugu and another in Lagos. The tales are generally the same, from congestion to poor medical and sanitary facilities to poor feeding to lack of rehabilitative and correctional equipment. There is also the fear that the lack of rehabilitative facilities is leading to an increase in the relapse into crime. More disheartening is the sizeable population of pregnant women and nursing mothers in our prisons. One wonders how the children born and breed in the prisons would mature physically, emotionally, and psychologically. In one of my visit, I remember asking the prison wardens and some of the ladies how they got pregnant; the answer is best left to your imagination. Lack of adequate funding has been held to be the cause of these anomalies, a fact the prison officials never fail to mention. To their credit, the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) thanks to the efforts of lots of religious organizations, NGOs and well wishers have alleviated some of the needs of the prisoners; providing food, beddings, medical, spiritual, legal and psychological care. The NPS in partnership with JAMB and NOUN enables prisoners to have university degrees. Other partnerships with skill acquisition groups help the prisoners maximize their hands by acquiring different skills. But what has not been solved nor given attention is the congestion in the prisons. As far back as 2013, the then Minister of Interior, Abba Moro while inaugurating a 12-man presidential committee on prison decongestion stated that they were currently 41,524 inmates in the prisons as opposed to the less than 30,000 capacity. Out of the 41,524 inmates, 70% were awaiting trial persons (ATPs). Eight years earlier in 2005, the number of the inmates was around 38,328, 74% were ATPs. The Controller General of NPS said “As of March 6, 2017, the total inmate’s population stands at 68,259, out of which 46,351 are awaiting trial while the remaining 21,903 are convicted, in terms of percentage, the convicted is 32% while ATPs are 68 %”. Although I’m unaware of the outcome and success of the 12-man presidential committee, with the figures above, it is undeniable that nothing has been done to revamp the Nigerian prisons. Our criminal justice system and prison congestion are topics different stakeholders have discussed over and over. The government’s attitude to the prisons, suggests that 29 years of military rule has made our leaders think of prisons as concentration camps. In the concentration camps, not only were dissenters kept there for punitive reasons, majority of the imamates were not tried, the facilities were atrocious and clearly beneath the dignity of the human person. A prison facility where on the average yearly, 70% of the inmates are ATPs, is a concentration camp. This goes against the spirit of the rule of law which deems everyone innocent until proven guilty; it also contravenes international best practices in administration of prisons. As such, the NPS needs an urgent revolution in tackling the menace of ATPs. Unfortunately, the Judiciary is accused by all including President Buhari for the overcrowded prisons. At his recent meeting with the Judiciary led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, the President urged the judiciary to adopt new approaches that will decongest the prisons. The President said “My Attorney General is advocating establishments of courts inside the prisons to speed up decongestion. The logistical problem of transporting prisoners from prisons to courts means a difficult period for suspected detainees. This is really bad”. This statement by Mr. President with all due respect is misconceived. The first question the President, and indeed all, ought to ask is: How do the prisons get congested? The second question is: What does awaiting trial mean? When both questions are answered, it will then be clear that the executive and not the judiciary has the most work to play in the decongestion of prisons. Rather than blame and advise others on their duties, they ought to do theirs first. Our prisons are crammed because of the unprofessional and inept conduct of the Nigerian Police. The indiscriminate way they arrest people is unknown in any civilized society. The NPS collaborate in this by taking in very Tom, Dick and Harry the police officials bring. The NPS should have a strict procedure before allowing the Police dump people in their facilities. An investigation should have gotten to a reasonable stage before a person is detained. Imprisonment should be upon the order of a competent court, it surely cannot be arbitrary. Coincidentally, both the Police and the NPS are under the jurisdiction of the Executive and we haven’t heard any charge from the President to them to decongest the prisons. Last week Friday, while at Saka Tinubu fixing my laptop, police officials came in and wanted to arrest the “engineers” and search their offices. I asked if they had warrants to search and arrest. After questioning me to find out if I was a lawyer, they accused me of obstructing justice and threatened to arrest me. This story is common when one visits the prisons. The police arrest people for all kinds of reasons, from staying out late at night to breaking up a relationship. Most of the claims are ridiculous and largely unsubstantiated. Precisely, because they don’t have good cases, they hardly charge these suspects; that is why majority of the suspects are awaiting trial. Awaiting trial means that the suspects haven’t been charged to any court. Many of the suspects are not even told of their offenses nor are they allowed to contact their relatives or lawyers. Intimidation is the order of the day. Hence the comparison of our prisons to concentration camps. What then is expected from the judiciary when the suspects haven’t even been charged? Some chief judges are now exercising their powers to free some inmates. Recently, the immediate past Chief Judge of Lagos state, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, on August 1 and 14 released 209 underage inmates from the Badagry and Kirikiri prisons. Some of the offences of the children bothered on flimsy issues like breach of public peace and no means of livelihood. That’s the police for you. Obviously having courts in the prisons is not the answer. President Buhari of late has been demanding from the judiciary. He wants to create courts for almost everything. Courts for corruption cases have been set up on his request. Unfortunately, the number of the judges is not increasing. The judiciary is understaffed and underequipped for work they must deal with. The Executive has paid lip service to most of these demands. Prisons need to be decongested, no doubt; if the Executive arm of government works with the judiciary. Nwachukwu is a lawyer and a writer, nwachukwujo@gmail.com ]]>

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