A Federal Government visitation panel investigating Nigeria’s prison conditions has delivered a grim verdict: prisons across the country remain in dire straits, with inmates enduring unbearable conditions.
The panel, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda, unveiled alarming revelations about the state of correctional facilities.
Many inmates, he noted, are trapped behind bars due to a lack of legal representation, while the overwhelmed Legal Aid Council struggles to handle the sheer volume of cases.
Presenting the panel’s findings to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Fapohunda described the harrowing realities witnessed during the prison audit.
From unjustified prolonged detentions to severe health conditions that prison authorities lack the resources to manage, the situation, he stressed, demands urgent intervention.
He passionately urged the AGF and the Federal Government to take immediate action to improve prison conditions, emphasizing that countless inmates remain in detention beyond the maximum sentences prescribed for their alleged offences simply because they have no legal representation.
“It would have been odd in the extreme if the working group had simply focused on the status of Section 35 inmates and ignored the plight of other inmates deserving urgent attention,” Fapohunda stated.
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The Attorney-General, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, acknowledged the severity of the situation, reiterating that the government remains committed to ensuring access to justice and preventing unjust detentions in custodial centers.
He emphasized that this initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda and Nigeria’s obligations under both national and international human rights frameworks.
“This mandate of the working group is crucial to achieving the standards we have set for ourselves in our effort to reform our criminal justice system,” he stated. “The vision of Mr. President is for a criminal justice system that maintains law and order, deters crime, punishes offenders, while at the same time striving to rehabilitate them for reintegration into society.”
With these revelations now in the open, the question remains: Will the government take decisive action, or will Nigerian inmates continue to languish in silence?