Lawyers Advocate Free Legal Service To Decongest Prisons

CHANNELS TV

A group of lawyers and civil society groups in Nigeria are asking the Nigerian Bar Association to make it mandatory for lawyers to offer free legal services, as part of efforts to decongest the nation’s prisons.

They made the request over the weekend at Kuje Prisons in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The lawyers and civil society organisations led by the initiator of the free legal aid, Mr Abubakar Ndakene, believe that the congestion of the nation’s prisons is largely responsible for the several attempts at jail-breaks.

They said the detention of prisoners without any hope of being tried in a court of law fueled such prison-break attempts.

After taking a tour of the prison facilities, the Chief Executive Officer of Lyngrace Foundation, Lynda Yusuf, also appealed to Nigerians to help in the re-integration of ex-prisoners in the society.

She added that stigmatisation of ex-prisoners should be discouraged in order to facilitate their smooth re-integration.

There have been series of efforts to decongest prisons in Nigeria, but the number of inmates awaiting trial has continued to increase.

On September 24, a prison official in Ilesa Prison in Osun State, said 454 out of 582 inmates were awaiting trial.

He told Channels Television that the situation was as a result of huge challenges facing the Prisons Service.

The officer in charge of the Prisons, Deputy Comptroller Ope Fanimikun, said that presenting 454 inmates for trial in 72 courts was a huge challenge for officers.

He explained that the Prisons service had just four vehicles, the newest of which was given to the prisons four years ago.

Enugu Prison shows inadequate maintenance of prison facilities in Nigeria

The Deputy Comptroller sought the support of Nigerians in form of vehicles’ donation to ensure that inmates were presented for trials to decongest the prisons.

He disclosed that the prison needed at least 20 vehicles, medical facilities and consumables.

After that request was made, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) set aside 3.5 billion Naira to procure 320 made-in-Nigeria vehicles to aid prisons decongestionacross the country.

The approval was in response to the request in a memo presented at a FEC meeting on Wednesday by the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahaman Dambazau (rtd).

General Dambazau noted that the procurement of vehicles was part of requirements needed to strengthen the Criminal Justice System.

He told State House correspondents after the meeting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, that at least 75% of an estimated 65,000 inmates were awaiting trial.

The Interior Minister also blamed their continued detention on lack of logistics and availability of vehicles to transport them to at least 5,000 courts from prisons within the country.