By Martins Odeh, NAN
It is, indeed, an incontrovertible fact that the entire gamut of justice administration in Nigeria would be meaningless if the country’s prisons continue to be in bad shape.
The abolition of Native Authority Prisons in 1968 and the subsequent unification of prisons services in Nigeria marked the beginning of Nigerian Prisons Service.
Analysts, however, maintain that as the country grapples with out-dated laws, which it inherited from the British colonial administration, most of its prisons have also become antiquated.
Mr Olawale Fapohunda, former Attorney-General of Ekiti State, who spoke at the annual lecture of the National Judicial Correspondents Association in Abuja last December, said that the state of the country’s prisons had direct implications on national security.
“The Nigerian Prisons Service is a key institution in our criminal justice framework.
“However, our prisons continue to be a source of concern due to overcrowding (of inmates), understaffing, inadequate and inappropriate conditions for prisoners, poor administration, long detention of those awaiting trial and limited access to legal advice and representation,’’ he said.
Fapohunda, who is now Managing Partner, Legal Resources Consortium, said that there were a number of factors hindering the prisons service from achieving its constitutional mandate.
“The first is its archaic legislation. Not unlike the Nigeria Police, the Prisons Act was last reviewed in 1972.
“A bill to amend the Prisons Act 1972 was first laid before the House of Representatives in 2001. In 2016,howeve, the process of enactment is still on-going.
“Last month, I visited Port Harcourt and Ikoyi prisons as an expert adviser to a prison inspection group that was convened by the National Human Rights Commission and the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
“Port Harcourt Prison was flagged as a prison facility with grave human rights concern,’’ he said.
But Fapohunda’s sentiments are not by any means exaggerated, as the National Humans Commission, the Legal Aid Council and several penal reform groups have all identified Port Harcourt Prison as one of the worst prison facilities in the country.
For instance, the National Human Rights Commission, in its 2016 report on the condition of prisons across the country, noted that Port Harcourt Prison, which ought to accommodate 804 inmates, housed more than 3,865 inmates.
This, in essence, shows that the prison is highly congested with appalling sanitary and physical conditions.
The report of the National Human Rights Commission also affirmed that 3,381inmates in the prison were awaiting trial.
Nevertheless, the unpleasant situation is not prison-specific, as other prisons across the country are also facing similar challenges.
For instance, the Kuje Prison in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a capacity for 560 inmates, has 842 inmates; 627 of them awaiting trial.
The prison, which services 107 courts across the FCT, only has three functional vehicles.
Besides, the report of the National Human Rights Commission indicated that Agodi Prison in Ibadan, Oyo State, which had a capacity for 294 inmates, was now home to over 1,000 inmates.
There are 2,144 prisoners in Owerri Prison in Imo State, far over its capacity for 548 inmates, while Kano Central Prison, with a capacity for 690 inmates, is holding over 1,609 inmates.
In Lagos State, the report said that the 800-capacity Ikoyi Prisons now accommodate more than 2,239 inmates.
Chief Emeka Anoze, a lawyer, said that apart from infrastructure deficits, the lack of diligent prosecution of cases remained the bane of justice administration in the country.
“A major setback is the transportation infrastructure of the prisons. There are limited functional vehicles and, therefore, the inmates’ access to court is a serious challenge.
“Rehabilitation programmes for prisoners, especially in the area of hands-on vocational training, are virtually non-existent,’’ he said.
Anoze said that overcrowded prisons had been a serious challenge facing the country’s justice system.
Apart from prisons’ congestion, the report of the National Human Rights Commission indicated that one in every five prisoners in some prisons, which were inspected last year, spent at least 23 hours a day, locked up in their cells.
In view of these developments, among others, the Senate has started work on the consolidation of three bills seeking to repeal the Prisons Act CAP P29 2004.
The bills are the Prison Act 2004 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2016, sponsored by Sen. Moh’d Shaaba Lafiagi and the Prison Act 2004 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2016, sponsored by Sen. Babajide Omoworare.
The third bill on Prison Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was sponsored by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu.
The Senate also proposed the enactment of a Nigerian Prisons and Correctional Services Act at its plenary session on Oct. 26, 2016.
Speaking on the bill seeking to address the plight of awaiting trial inmates in Nigerian prisons, Sen. Lafiagi (APC-Kwara) said that problems emanating from prisons administration were mounting and recurrent.
He noted that many persons were unlawfully detained in the prisons without the option of bail.
“There is also the issue of congestion of prisons; as 45,745 persons, out of a total of 65,000 persons incarcerated in 2015, were awaiting trial.
“The various jailbreaks across the country may not be unconnected to the strains on prison resources and facilities. So, the new law, when enacted, will address these challenges,’’ he said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Sen. Omoworare (APC-Osun) said that the new legislation would improve the general welfare of prison inmates.
He said that the bill captured the right of inmates to have clear and adaptable environment as well as educational and vocational training so as to deter them from relapsing into crime.
He emphasised that the bill sought to increase public participation in prison administration by encouraging the public to come out with complaints and recommendations on matters relating to the welfare of inmates.
In addition, Omoworare underscored the need to compile biometrics data on prisoners so as to reduce the menace of prison breaks, while adequate medical facilities should be put in place in prisons to treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders of inmates.
On her part, Sen. Tinubu (APC-Lagos) said that the bill was targeted at providing mother-and-baby units for pregnant prisoners or female inmates with new-borns.
“If passed, prison authorities would be compelled by law to provide special accommodation that meets pre-natal and postnatal needs of pregnant inmates.
“The authorities shall also set up nurseries, staffed by qualified personnel, for infants not in the care of their mothers.
“What we simply want to achieve is a decent society where prisons are converted from being valleys of death to corrective centres,’’ she said.
Going from the general to the specifics, the new bill fights against the stigmatisation of babies born in prisons by stipulating the exclusion of circumstance of birth from their birth certificates.
The bill also intends to increase the age requirement in the definition of “infant’’, as contained in the Prison Act, 2004, to cover children between ages 0 to 3 years.
It will also allow infants to stay with their mothers, beyond the 18 months, which is currently allowed, so as to create and encourage a favourable environment for mother-child bonding.
Supporting the bill, several senators spoke on the need for prison reforms and agreed on certain measures that would facilitate a holistic reorganisation of the prison administration.
The actions include the adoption of measures to speed up convictions, parole to encourage inmates who exhibit good behaviour and frequent exercise of the prerogative of mercy.
The senate also agreed to stipulate the transfer of the case files of inmates from the police to Ministry of Justice in order to facilitate quick dispensation of justice.
The consolidated bill is now before the Committee on Interior and Judiciary, Human rights and Legal matters for further legislative input.
All in all, observers say that tangible efforts should be made to reform and standardise prison administration in Nigeria, in line with modern trends in other climes. (NANFeatures)
Comments are closed.