President Muhammadu Buhari has called for urgent measures towards the speedy trial of cases and decongestion of custodial centres in the country, in view of COVID-19 pandemic. The President has also suggested to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, to consider setting up Special Courts in all states, including the FCT, to try cases of armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping and other serious offences, in order to facilitate speedy trials. This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, in Abuja. President Buhari in a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, drew the attention of the CJN to the recent call by the United Nations on all countries “to consciously reduce the population of prison inmates since physical distancing and self-isolation in such conditions are practically impossible.” He said: “From available records, the inmates population at various custodial centres across the country presently stands at about 74,127 out of which 52,226 are Awaiting Trial Persons (ATPs). “Most of these custodial centres are currently housing inmates beyond their capacities and the overcrowded facilities pose a potent threat to the health of the inmates and the public in general, in view of the present circumstances, hence the need for urgent steps to bring the situation under control.”
The President further said that in view of the above scenario, “it has become imperative for Your Lordship to request State Chief Judges to embark on immediate visit to all custodial/correctional centres within their respective states to identify and release deserving inmates where that has not been done already.” He noted that during such visits, “the Chief Judges are enjoined to consider conditional or unconditional release of ATPs who have spent six years or more in custody. ATPs who have no confirmed criminal cases against them, aged inmates and terminally ill may be discharged. “It is expected that particular attention should be on the aged, those with health issues, low risk offenders, those with no sufficient legal basis to remain in custody, inmates convicted for minor offences with or without option of fines and inmates who have less than three years term left to serve having served a substantial term of their service for offences that attract five years and above. “Payment of fines may be made in favour of inmates convicted of lesser offences with option of fine, who are in custody because of their inability to pay such fines.” President Buhari said a report on the proposed visits was expected to be forwarded to the Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion Secretariat, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja for compilation and onward transmission to his office. He also suggested to the CJN to “at this stage, consider taking immediate steps as appropriate to ensure the setting up or designation of Special Courts in all States, including the FCT, to try cases of armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping and other serious offences, in order to facilitate speedy trials
In a related development, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, has written to Governors of all the 36 states of the federation to draw their attention to President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval and authorization for urgent measures to be taken towards the speedy decongestion of correctional/custodial centres in the country in view of the COVID–19 pandemic. The AGF, in a statement that was signed by his media aide, Dr Umar Gwandu, and made available to newsmen on Friday, said the letters, dated April 9, enjoined all the Governors to direct Chief Judges in their states to identify and release deserving inmates. Malami said he had in the letters titled “Urgent need for speedy decongestion of Custodial Centres”, decried that from available records, the inmate population at the various custodial centres across the country, presently stood at 74,127, out of which 52,226 inmates are awaiting trial persons.
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He noted that most of Custodial Centers are presently housing inmates beyond their capacities. Malami said the development posed a potent threat to the health of the inmates and the public in general in view of the present circumstances, hence the need for urgent steps to bring the situation under control. “In light of the above, Mr President requests all Executive Governors to request their State Chief Judges to embark on visits to all correctional/custodial centres within their respective States to identify and release deserving inmates where that has not been done already,” the letter read in part. Besides, the AGF explained that at the requested visit, the Chief Judges are enjoined to consider a conditional or unconditional release of ATPs who have spent 6 years or more in custody, as well as those that have no confirmed criminal cases against them. According to the Minister, other considerable inmates would include the aged, those with terminal illnesses, low-risk offenders, those with no sufficient legal basis to remain in custody, convicts of minor offences with or without an option of fines and those who have less than 3 years term left to serve, having served a substantial term of their jail term for offences that attract five years and above. Malami also demanded that “payment of fines may be made in favour of inmates convicted of lesser offences with an option of fine, who are in custody because of their inability to pay such fines”. He notified the Governors that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved that “State Governors should at this stage, take measures to facilitate the setting of their respective State Prerogative of Mercy Committees in order to recommend deserving cases for release on grounds of pardon or clemency in line with Constitutional provisions.”
Recalled also that, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, not too long ago, said he was worried over the rising number of persons in detention across the country, saying there was need for all the Correctional Service Centers to be fully and systematically decongested. Addressing newsmen at the Federal Ministry of Justice headquarters in Abuja, Malami, revealed that the Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion has so far released a total of 3,768 inmates that were held in custody for minor offences. According to Malami, the freed inmates were freed after the Committee “appraised about thirty-four prisons in sixteen states
The AGF said the Presidential Committee which is headed by the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, further wrote letter of appeal to several State Government Executives to act on some special cases, as well as to exercise their powers of clemency in deserving cases or commute to life sentence those condemned to death. He said: “On assumption of office, President Buhari was alarmed over the deplorable state of prisons nationwide, noting that it is a national disaster and that many of the prisons are about 90% overcrowded. He stressed the need to put in place urgent measures to speedily decongest the prisons. “The Honourable Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in October 2017, constituted a Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion Chaired by the Honourable Chief Judge, High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Honourable Justice I.U Bello to fast-track the Decongestion of prisons. “The Committee has since its inauguration visited and appraised about thirty-four (34) prisons in sixteen (16) states. A total number of Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Sixty-Eight (3,768), have been so far released during these visits via payment of fines for convicts for minor offences with the option of fine who are unable to pay the fines, general review of peculiar cases and advocacy overtures to relevant authorities. “The Committee has written letters of appeal to several State Government Executives to act on some special cases encountered during the visits to various prisons in some states as well as to exercise their powers of clemency in deserving cases or commute to life sentence those condemned to death. “The Committee also carried out prison’s inspection exercises wherein a number of facilities were discovered to be in dire need of urgent rehabilitation and has made recommendations as a matter of urgency to the relevant authorities for the renovation/construction of prison facilities. “The Committee during its visits, also conducts the review of cases of inmates awaiting trial for upwards of five (5) years, and of inmates eligible for Prerogative of Mercy with relevant authorities and looks into cases of condemned convicts on death row for over ten (10) years with the view to getting relevant authorities to commute the sentences to life imprisonment”. Malami said his office was instrumental to the speedy passage of the Nigerian Correctional Services Bill that was signed into law by President Buhari on August 14, 2019. “This is a major turning point in Prisons Reform and Justice Sector delivery in Nigeria. The recently passed Act has some innovative provisions which addresses some major issues that have been of concern to stakeholders in the Justice sector. This marks another milestone in our national Strategies deployed towards urgently decongesting the prisons. “The guiding principles that ran across the Act took clue from the objectives of the Act as stated under section 2 (1) of the Act which are; To ensure compliance with international human rights standards and good correctional practices; “To provide enabling platform for implementation of non-custodial measures; “To enhance the focus on corrections and promotion of reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders; and “To establish institutional, systemic and sustainable mechanisms to address the high number of persons awaiting trial”. He said the Federal Executive Council had in April, granted approval for the award of a contract for the installation of Virtual Automated Case Management System to fast track the decongestion of prisons in Nigeria. “This system will integrate with the existing Prisons Information Management System (PIMS) with the ultimate aim of effecting a holistic improvement of the efficiency of the entire Justice Sector. “In this regard, it is my hope that in no distant time, the Prisons, now Correctional Service Centres will be fully and systematically decongested.
“The first step towards attaining the objective of the Act is the establishment of a standard Skill Acquisition Centre at Keffi Correctional Centre in December which will be replicated in Correctional Centres across the Federation. “This will enhance the focus on corrections and promotion of reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders as provided by the Act”, Malami added. On his part, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion, Justice Bello, said there was need for the country to embrace the non-custodial sentencing system. Justice Bello disclosed that a batch of Magistrates that recently inspected various detention facilities in the country in line with provision of section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, found out that in a particular center, over 250 suspects were locked-up in one cell. Decrying that security operatives initially denied the team of Magistrates access to the detention facility, Justice Bello said he promptly intervened and ensured that they were transferred to the Correctional Service Center in Kuje.
The Nigerian prisons now known as Nigerian Correctional Services are very congested, and the development has become a major concern to the prison authorities, the judiciary and the police. Over the years, inmates have outnumbered the capacity of prison cells and facilities at the prisons are being overstretched. Nigeria has 228 prisons housing 68, 259 inmates. 145 prisons are for convicts while 83 serve as satellite prison camps. There are also three Borstal institutions for juvenile offenders. The two types of convicts’ prisons operational in Nigeria are the Maximum and the Medium Security Prisons. The Satellite Prisons are built to serve as intermediate camps for the areas with courts that are far from the main prisons. But the cells in most of the prisons are old and tiny. A recent visit to prisons in Kaduna, Enugu, Oko and Kano revealed that apart from being old and small, the cells are also overcrowded. The Ikoyi Prisons in Lagos State which has capacity for 800 inmates currently has over 1,500 people awaiting trial. The Kuje Prisons in Abuja has more than 600 inmates, including 85 convicts and 585 awaiting trial.
Amnesty International, in its 2008 report, declared that Nigeria’s prisons are filled with people whose human rights are systematically violated. It stated that 65 per cent of the inmates are awaiting trial. Most of them, the organization said, have been waiting on that list for many years because they are too poor to pay lawyers. It is only one out seven of the people awaiting trial that have private legal representation, the report noted. According to an African Focus bulletin of 2008, the Nigerian Government has not implemented the recommendations of many study groups and presidential committees over the recent years. It said that few of the promises made by the Nigerian government have been carried out and this has led to the current problems being experienced in the country’s prisons. “The opening of prisons to non-governmental organizations has had a positive effect: NGOs bring food, educational materials and lawyers into the prisons. They organize religious activities, offer counseling and teach inmates. However, NGOs are not primarily responsible for the welfare of the inmates. It is time the Nigerian government faced up to its responsibilities for those in its prisons,” the bulletin stated. Studies revealed that those problems in the prison system still persist today. Some concerned Nigerians attributed the upsurge in the congestion of prisons to indiscriminate arrest of innocent citizens by the police.
This overcrowding could have negative effects on the physical and mental health of inmates. Since there are not enough resources to take care of inmates, malnutrition and poor health facilities become prevalent. This also increases the inmates’ susceptibility to assault among themselves. In fact, according to amnesty international, Nigeria’s prisons are filled with people whose human rights are systematically violated. Approximately 65 per cent of the inmates are awaiting trial most of whom have been waiting for their trial for years. Most of the people in Nigeria’s prisons are too poor to be able to pay lawyers, and only one in seven of those awaiting trial have private legal representation. Although governmental legal aid exists, there are too few legal aid lawyers for all the cases that require representation. Living conditions in the prisons are appalling. They are damaging to the physical and mental well-being of inmates and in many cases constitute clear threats to health. Conditions such as overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of food and medicines and denial of contact with families and friends fall short of UN standards for the treatment of prisoners. The worst conditions constitute ill-treatment. In many Nigerian prisons inmates sleep two to a bed or on the floor in filthy cells. Toilets are blocked and overflowing or simply nonexistent, and there is no running water. As a result, disease is widespread.
Most prisons have small clinics or sick bays which lack medicines, and in many prisons inmates have to pay for their own medicines. Guards frequently demand that inmates pay bribes for such “privileges” as visiting the hospital, receiving visitors, contacting their families and, in some cases, being allowed outside their cells at all. Prisoners with money may be even allowed mobile phones, whereas those without funds can be left languishing in their cells. One inmate said: “If you don’t have money, if you come to prison, you will suffer. They collect money from you. It is not right.” The Nigerian government has, on numerous occasions, stated its willingness to reform the criminal justice system, acknowledging its role in creating a situation of prolonged detention and overcrowding. Despite many Presidential Commissions and Committees recommending reform of the criminal justice system, these recommendations have not been implemented. Instead, the government has simply set up new committees and commissions to study, review and harmonize the previous recommendations. The reality remains that those in prison stand little chance of their rights being respected. Those who lack money stand even less chance.
All too often, individuals who are not suspected of committing any crime are incarcerated in Nigeria’s prisons along with those suspected or convicted of crimes. Some were arrested in place of a family member whom the police could not locate. Others suffer from mental illness and were brought to prison to relieve their families of responsibility for their care. Most are very poor people who have no lawyer to advocate for them. The Nigerian Constitution (Section 35) guarantees the right to be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time. If there is a court of competent jurisdiction within 40km, a reasonable time is defined as one day; in all other cases “reasonable” is considered to be two days or longer, depending on the distances and circumstances. In practice, this is hardly ever accomplished. The Nigeria Police Force claim they cannot investigate a crime and interrogate suspects within such a short time, saying: “There is no case that you can crack within 24 hours unless it is a traffic offence.
It is important to note that, Amnesty International concludes that Nigeria does not take seriously its responsibility towards its citizens in prison. Recommendations made by national and international organizations have failed to lead to any action by the government. The recommendations of all governmental committees and commissions appear to be little more than words, which have left the real situation in Nigeria’s prisons unchanged. Inmates awaiting trial – especially those who cannot afford legal support – wait years for their trial to take place; the prisons remain overcrowded; prison authorities do not appear to receive the funds that have been allocated to improving conditions. Amnesty International is extremely concerned that few of the Nigerian government’s promises have been translated into action.
However, in very practical terms the present government is working assiduously to drastically reduce the number of inmates to a very manageable size that will not constitute a present danger to the inmates and the society at large in view of the prevailing and rampaging COVID 19 pandemic.
***Â Written by Jide Ayobolu.
