Udora Orizu writes that end to prison congestion may be in sight, following President Muhammadu Buhari's assent to a Bill to amend the 1999 Constitution to move correctional centers from Exclusive legislative list to Concurrent legislative list.
A fortnight ago President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Bill to amend the 1999 Constitution to move correctional centers from the Exclusive legislative list to the Concurrent legislative list.
Over the years, prison security and administration in the country has been a matter of debate and criticism, particularly since the breach of security at Kuje Maximum Custodial Centre in July 2022.
Issues of dilapidated prison structures, congestion, high number of awaiting trial inmates and other related matters, have been of concern to many.
For decades, there has been a steady rise in the Nigerian prison population. The prison population in the country comprises of adult males and females and young persons. More than 60 percent of prison admissions are waiting trial or being remanded in custody.
Factors identified as causing overcrowding in prisons include delays in the administration of justice, overuse of prison sentences by judges, over-criminalisation, and lack of adequate resources to build new prisons.
One particular factor responsible for congestion of detention and custodial facilities is the difficult bail system and perceived reluctance of judicial officers to grant bail to inmates especially for offences that are ordinarily bailable.
In a report from the Ministry of Interior months ago, it was disclosed that the entire national custodial facilities have maximum capacity for 57,278 inmates, however, the total population of inmates all the facilities across the nation was given at 68,747 inmates.
The governmental data showed that the facilities were congested by 18 per cent.
The report noted that 50,992 inmates, representing 74 per cent of the total population of inmates are awaiting trial, while only 17,755 inmates had been tried and convicted.
This overcrowding has led to side effects that inmates experiences and they include damage to physical and mental health and human rights violations.
The situation is so bad that the right which grants that those awaiting to be accommodated in separate units should be kept apart from convicted prisoners, is not possible due to the level of congestion in the correctional centres.
The congestion problem got to a terrifying point that in 2021, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, disclosed that the Federal Government, through the Presidential Committee on Correctional Reforms and Decongestion, had freed over 10,000 inmates in the past four years.
Also in 2020, in outbreak of COVID-19, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in a bid to curb the disease spread released 3,751 inmates consisting of convicts and persons awaiting trial.
This was in response first to the order by President Muhammadu Buhari and second, a subsequent instruction by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad to the chief judges of the states and the Federal Capital Territory to decongest the correctional facilities under their respective jurisdictions.
While Buhari hinged his order on the expediency imposed by the danger of COVID-19, the former CJN on his part, was prompted by a charge from the United Nations to, consciously reduce the population of inmates since physical distancing and self-isolation in such conditions are practically impossible.
Similarly, last year, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said he will meet with state governors to agree on the mass release of at least 30 per cent of inmates from custodial centres across the country.
Aregbesola who made this known when he appeared on the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja said that the interface was necessary as more than 90 per cent of the inmates were being held for contravening various state laws.
Aregbesola also said that over 70 per cent of the 75,635 inmates at present were awaiting trial.
The minister said that the federal offenders in the system were far less than 10 per cent, adding that the bulk of people in custody were those who had run foul of state laws.
He said that they were therefore being kept under the legal jurisdiction of their respective states.
The minister added that the decongestion of the 253 custodial centres nationwide was necessary as some of the inmates have no reason to remain in custody.
He said, "I have written the Nigerian Governors Forum to allow me to come and address them on how they can support the process of decongestion. Because the governors must buy into this system for us to do a massive decongestion especially of Awaiting Trial Inmates. If we get the buy in of state judicial authorities and the government of the states, we can pull out 30 per cent of those who are there."
While the federal government in response to these issues has in one way or another initiated holistic prison reforms, including the modernisation of custodial centres to ensure the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates, stakeholders have stressed the need to build new facilities and redesign the bail system.
This need for the improvement of custodial facilities in the country, led the House of Representatives Spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu to sponsor a constitutional amendment bill which seeks to move Correctional Services from Exclusive list to Concurrent legislative List.
The Bill which was listed among the 16 bills assented to by Mr. President on March 17th, 2023 was first read on the 24th of November, 2020, and passed for second reading on the 23rd of February, 2021.
Kalu who represents Bende Federal Constituency, Abia State had in his lead debate lamented that the problem of prison congestion in the country is huge.
He stated that the bill also seeks to enable states to share in the responsibility of prison funding and management which would help check indiscriminate imprisonment of people for minor offenses created by state laws.
According to him, "For instance, the March 2019 edition of the Lagos State Criminal Information System revealed that though the five prisons in Lagos State have a combined holding capacity of 4,087, they were holding 9,044 inmates. A former Comptroller of Prisons in Lagos State, Mr. Tunde Ladipo, said the Badagry Prison, which was built to house only a little over 100 inmates, was at a time holding over 700 inmates. In fact, there are 240 prisons in Nigeria with an official capacity of 50,153 inmates but currently holding over 74,000 inmates. This is an obstacle to the implementation of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (a.k.a. Mandela Rules) adopted by the United Nations in 2015.
"Of course, there are also Covid-19 concerns,, especially in the context of social distancing protocols.
Concerns have also been raised about the practicability of Section 12(8) of the new Nigerian Correctional Service Act empowering the State Comptroller of Correctional Service to reject additional inmates when the facility under his watch is full. The question that easily comes to mind includes: where will the inmates be taken to? Will such an inmate be released, particularly where he has been alleged to have committed heinous crimes?
"More prisons must be built. Achieving total reform of the reformatory institutions in Nigeria won't be possible until we take deliberate & bold steps to encourage our federating units to be part of the establishment & running of correctional facilities in their respective domains. Once this is done, the federating units can cater for many of the inmates in prisons and correctional centers who committed state offenses and that of course will lessen the burden of the Federal Government."
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Following President Buhari's assent to the bill, the House Spokesman expressed delight that states will now have the power to establish Correctional and Custodial facilities, and State Assemblies will have the power to legislate over it.
The lawmaker while commending the President noted that it will significantly reduce the current congestion of correctional centers in Nigeria while enhancing the human rights of inmates who are entitled to basic living space.
He added this is another milestone for him as a legislator as this is his third bill being signed by the President in his first tenure as a Representative.
He said, "I am glad that my input to the constitutional amendment was approved by the Parliament and assented to by Mr. President. I am proud that Bende is part of the effort to present a better constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Going forward state offenders will go to State prisons while Federal offenders to Federal prisons. I thank the Speaker of the House, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase for their support to this bill over the last three years".
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More prisons must be built. Achieving total reform of the reformatory institutions in Nigeria won't be possible until we take deliberate & bold steps to encourage our federating units to be part of the establishment & running of correctional facilities in their respective domains
