I stumbled accross a BBC article that describes how Nigeria is planning to free up to 25,000 prisoners who are awaiting trial. Apparently it is normal in Nigeria for people to spend 10 years awaiting trial in our prison system (2 out of every 3 people you meet in a Nigerian prison are still awaiting trial). So anyone accused of a crime is basically finished.

Nigeria is to set free about half of all prisoners to reduce overcrowding.

Up to 25,000 people, including the sick, the elderly and those with HIV will be freed, said Justice Minister Bayo Ojo.

Those who have been awaiting trial for longer than the sentences they face and those whose case files have been lost by the authorities will also benefit.

Correspondents say many people wait up to 10 years, often in awful conditions, for their case to come to trial.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4583282.stm

This is a very terrible and painful state of affairs; something that one doesn't even want to imagine. How can we fix it?

Its very sad indeed. To fix?, everything needs to be finetuned from police to the judicial system. Its a common practice that the well to dos will just ask the police to luck you up and they decide when you are released. The same for cases going to court, the richer will always insist the police and lawyers make sure you sepnd all your life in jail without getting to court. Its an Irony for a Nation with so clears laws, yet with so much fatherism that no one cares about the laws. The level of ignorance by the populace and the police is appalling. The average Nigerian is not aware of their contitutional right.

I think the only way to fix this is to start educating Nigerians better on their constitutional rights. If poeple know their rights and they know how to get it, the dark influence of the police and judiciary in such will be challenged.

There's just one problem responsible for all this and that is corruption. Or how can you explain the case of one awaiting trial for up to 10 years? Is it that the right authorities aren't aware? Is it that the money isn't there to build larger prisons with good facilitites so as to help reform the prisoners during their stay in the prison? Why won't a case be tried as soon as the evidences are glaring?

There are too many questions begging for answers but have been denied answers by the big monster - corruption, plauging our lovely nation.

May God help us.

I agree with DE-KING.

DE-KING, you just killed that nail, you hit it right on the head!

I agree corruption is one of the problems, but I think Ignorance is the greater problem. The avaerage Nigerian do not know they cannot be detained for more than 48 hours, they cannot be jailed without court conviction, etc. Corruption thrives in a way to bribe officials to just lock people away. Corruption is one thing, ignorance is another bigger thing. This is why when Seun asked how can we fix it, Im not sure how we can fix this monstrous curruption in Nigeria today, however we can educate Nigerians better on their rights...via sponsored talks, radio jingles, paper publications, etc. I used to listen to a radio program in Lagos that does this - educating Nigerians on their contitutional rights.
Also, the human rights organizations in Nigeria, NGOs etc can better challenge the status quo by exposing all the constitutional breaches by the police/judiciary, providing and educating Nigerians about the available free legal aids etc.

For instance - even in Sharia states, the defendants have a choice of going via sharia or standard legal system, many of them dont know they have a choice, they believe sharia is absolute. This is not corruption, this is Ignorance.

It is not about what nigeria is saying..provided an area does not involve a lot of money. Nigeria will not invest in it..Most of these accused has no money so government just ignore them however this is actually what the government should be doing//we r curropt//

If you cannot be detained for longer than 48 hours, how can you exercise your right if they illegally hold you? What are the available avenues?

what where their crimes u should ask ur self there are ppl in nigerian prison who have been wating for trial for over 2 yrs and u ask them what was there crime..........like the story of a man who was awating trial for 3yrs when he was finally put in front of a jury he was sentenced to 6months in prison we need serious prayers in dis country

@ bibi. Yes ignorance is another issue. Infact, bail is supposed to be free! But is it possible to get anyone out of a Nigerian jail without dropping? Except of cause if youre coming through one big shot and even then you must still settle! So like DE- king said, corruption is the major problem.
@nferyn. Honestly nferyn its a pathetic issue! All avenues for you to get help is blocked. If you make too much noise about the issue, you can get framed in further by the police! Sometimes you die(get killed) in detention and they tell your family all sorts of lies.

People don't sue the government for damages. Years of military rule has taught us to keep quiet when we should speak. It's sad.

@nferyn: to your question, there is the legal aid council. Its services are free and available to all Nigerians, available in every state of Nigeria. I know close people to me who have used their services before. Also, there are various legal aid NGOs that provide these free services.

It is true that the police demand money for bail, but again, this is unconstitutional. They can demand sureties. Only a court in Nigeria can demand financial as part of bail terms. It all goes with the ignorance of Nigerians that the police exploits. If you have a lawyer or legal aid councel, the police usually rescinds these demands.

Might makes right I guess knowing your rights would help in such a situation. Anyway, Bibi, do you know of successful legal interventions of that kind?

I disagree that ignorance is greater than corruption. In Nigeria, we all know that what works in the Western world doesn't work in ours. The issue of people getting bail or leaving detention after 48 hours doesn't work except in some situations. I remember when my brother was picked up from work a couple of years back, he wasn't even allowed to inform his family that he had been arrested till we started looking for him. We were only fortunate to find him the day after only when one of his colleagues told us where he had been taken. Infact he still was not released that day but the day after when we had bribed and pleaded and all that crap. If not he would have been in detention for much longer

The reason for his arrest was only made known to him much later when one of those bribed unashamedly admitted they were paid by a client to arrest him. So what are we talking about? If this could happen to a CEO of one of the big stockbroking houses, then one can imagine what happens to uneducated people?

PrettyH, let's be practical. I understand that we need to express the way we feel, but we should not ignore what BiBi has said about how we can protect ourselves by knowing who to call if something like that happens.

Of course he has told us who to call but now where were all these people when the prisons were been overcrowded? The same corruption that plagues the nation affects these same organizations from been efficient.

Pls, Nigeria needs a lot of revivals, starting from a very good and responsible (educated) leaders, in nigeria, you find it very difficult to excersise your right, where are all the human right fighters? and if somebody can be in prison for such a long time without a trial, getting nigeria back on the track will take a very long time my people.
The (police) is the most TERR, they are very very CORR, If these institute can be DRY-CLEANED.

I would like everyone to focus on the topic. Seun has asked how can we fix it? We all know Corruption is a big issue, it would help to educate Nigerians how they can ensure they get the correct legal protection within the currupt system. Corruption is a bigger issue that individual may not easily address., but people can address their personal ignorance if they know what to do. But then, we are talking about how we can avoid overcrowded prisons which was due in so many ways to illegal detentions. If people know their right and they can excercise it, that is one way out of many.

@nferyn: I know of successful legal interventions in that respect. I cannot vouch that there may not be corrupt practices in there, maybe so (as in any society). However, the fact I'm explaining here is that we tackle the huge ignorance prevailing in Nigeria. Here is the link to the Legal aid council i referenced..http://www.nopa.net/Justice/messages/5.shtml, http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=102732

I'd like people to focus more on the "how can we fix it"? rather than complaining about curruption. As long as people are ignorant, they will continually be exploited by the police and the judiciary. The issue with police and judiciary is mainly corruption and exploitation. Another angle for ICPC to look into.

@Bibi

Do you think some guys will even believe such aid exist in Naija?

Akolawole:

@Bibi

Do you think some guys will even believe such aid exist in Nigeria?

Akolawole, I hope youre not refering to people like me  Well, i actually know about the legal aid. A friend of mine works in the Abuja branch of it. Theyre really trying too but how many people can they reach? We're talking about thousands of people here.
Honestly bibi, I agree that we should talk more about fixing this problems. The Nigerian police is the major problem. The way they handle cases is so unprofeessional. They set people up all the time when you  refuse to cooperate with their lies. Thats what makes most of this people end up in the prisons for a long time without trial.

Okay one of the ways we can fix it is by starting from ourselves. Since we're now aware of our rights, we should decide not to give any form of bribe and insist on our rights. I think that's a way to start, at least that would be setting examples for others to follow.

Secondly, try to educate as many people as possible about their little rights when arrested, they should be told why they were arrested, they should know they can't be detained for more than 24hrs (except for certain sensitive crimes) and also insist on a lawyer of their choice.

I won't feel comfortable if I don't say this before I stop. Be prepared to face the beatings and sometimes frame-up from the cruel and heartless police officers who don't know any other thing apart from money if you insist on all of the above.

KADUNA, 11 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - As visitors approach the death row block at Kaduna’s central prison in northern Nigeria, a sea of hands waving tin cups automatically jerk through the bars of the dark cells.

“Get back!” shouts the prison guard at the 118 detainees crammed inside a dilapidated building originally meant to house 33. Up to three inmates live in less than four square metres of space. An overpowering stench of urine and mould billows out into the courtyard.

In the turmoil of the shouts some of the prisoners draw back to their spots on a tattered mat on the floor that aside from a few plastic bowls is the only object in the cell.

But the guard is jumpy and cuts short the visit, prohibiting any further interaction with the detainees.

Rights organisations working in Nigerian prisons - and even prison officials themselves - say the conditions of death row inmates do not fulfil even minimum international human rights standards.

In Kaduna prison, death row inmates are locked up all day long, said Festus Okoye, executive director of Human Rights Monitor (HRM), a group based in the northern city.

“They are allowed out only rarely, for a few minutes, one by one,” he said. Meanwhile some prisoners collect the buckets used as toilets.

Most of the death row inmates are utterly alone and never receive visitors - their families living too far away and having abandoned them for fear of being associated with their crimes, rights group sources say. Some simply cannot pay the ‘visiting rights’ fee charged by the wardens.

Nigeria this year acknowledged the sorry state of its jails, announcing plans to free some 25,000 inmates still awaiting trial - some for as long as 10 years - in a bid to relieve overcrowding and bad conditions.

The move could ease conditions for those left waiting on death row for years. Since Nigeria legalised capital punishment in 1999, only one prisoner has been executed by the state in northern Nigeria, with authorities openly reticent to carry through with executions, according to HRM.

Nigeria countrywide has 548 prisoners awaiting capital punishment - 10 of them women - among a total 40,000 detainees, according to Ernest Ogbozor of Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), Nigeria’s largest prisoners’ rights organisation.

Under Nigerian law, crimes punishable by death include armed robbery, murder and treason. Islamic Sharia law, in force in 12 northern Nigerian states, also calls for the death penalty in other crimes such as adultery.

Lack of food

If conditions for death row inmates are harsh, they are hardly any better for other prisoners. For the sick and weak, incarceration can be tantamount to a sentence to death.

“The two main problems in Nigerian prisons are overpopulation and lack of food,” said Hassan Saidi Labo, assistant to Nigeria’s prison inspector general.

Kaduna is a clear example. In December 2005, 957 detainees were crammed in 10 buildings designed for about 550 people.

Labo says some prisons hold up to four times their capacity.

In such conditions, just surviving is a daily battle, according to 54-year-old Felix Obi who was condemned to 27 years in prison in 1986 for drug trafficking. He spent 13 years and three months behind bars in the economic capital, Lagos, before benefiting from an amnesty in 1999.

“You fight for a scrap of blanket, a piece of soap, a bit of food or medicine if you get sick,” said Obi, who now works with PRAWA.

“Prisoners fight for space on the floor to sleep, they fight not to become depressed, and not to be victims of violence. They fight to survive.”

Monitoring by outside groups has had some impact. Since prisons were opened to religious and humanitarian organisations more than 10 years ago, the prison death rate has fallen from 1,500 per year in the late 1980s to 89 deaths in 2003, according to authorities.

Still the risk of death in prison remains high, particularly because of lack of food, said Harp Damulak, the Kaduna prison hospital doctor.

The daily ration generally consists of a bowl of beans in the morning then cassava in the afternoon and evening. Prisons have a budget of 150 Naira (US $1.15) per prisoner per day.

But this small amount does not necessarily get to all prisoners. Supply is in the hands of subcontractors who - poorly paid, acknowledge prison officials - sometimes dip into the goods, according to PRAWA and HRM.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says a prison employee earns about 6,000 Naira ($45) per month at the start, earning a maximum of about 40,000 Naira monthly at the end of a career. As a consequence corruption is common.

Conditions favour disease

Lack of food moreover aggravates already poor hygiene conditions. Damulak said that malnutrition makes prisoners highly vulnerable to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis or skin diseases caused by lack of hygiene.

The situation is the same for women inmates in Kaduna prison, where 18 women live in two cells, sleeping on iron beds stacked one atop another, some without mattresses. The bathroom has long been without running water.

“We are devoured by mosquitoes, we all suffer malaria but don’t have bed nets and the hospital has no medicine except paracetamol,” said Zainab, 32, who has been incarcerated since April. “There is nothing. Even sanitary napkins - we have to share one between two women every month, or even every two months.”

Prison conditions weigh heavily on the detainees, often causing depression and other psychological problems, according to Damulak. And prison personnel are not trained to handle such issues, he said.

To survive in their environment, some prisoners have taken things into their own hands.

“They have created a veritable government,” HRM’s Okoye said. “One prisoner is president, another police chief, another head of justice.” He added that some prison officials see the initiative as a positive thing because it helps foster order in the institutions.

Former prisoner Obi said, “Some [prison ‘leaders’] invent rules that are impossible to follow.” Punishment generally comes in the form of an order to do chores, such as washing the clothes of 'chiefs,' but often prisoners pay for misdeeds by being beaten or even sexually assaulted.

Despite efforts by inmates to impose some sort of organisation, prison riots are common, PRAWA’s Ogbozor said.

“In the past six months we have seen five riots in prisons across the country - all linked mostly to the lack of food for detainees.”

Under the recently announced plan to release prisoners, those who have spent three to 10 years awaiting trial will have their cases reviewed for immediate release. Also eligible will be the elderly, the terminally ill and those with HIV, as well as people locked up for longer than the prospective sentence for their crime.

Among those who have languished in prisons for years, human rights activists say, are some who were picked up by mistake or for very minor infractions and simply could not pay a fine.

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51047

The prisons are in a very Bad state