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Nigeria: Prison System Report
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Feb 26, 2008 (080226)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
"Nigeria's prisons are filled with people whose human rights are
systematically violated. Approximately 65 per cent of the inmates
are awaiting trial most of whom have been waiting for their trial
for years. Most of the people in Nigeria's prisons are too poor to
be able to pay lawyers, and only one in seven of those awaiting
trial have private legal representation." - Amnesty International
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the press release and excerpts
from the report released today in Abuja. For the press release and
a link to the full report see http://tinyurl.com/2fzwr9
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on Nigeria, and additional links
and background, see http://www.africafocus.org/country/nigeria.php
No Easy Victories book event - Boston, Massachusetts
Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 6-8 PM,
hosted by Themba Vilakazi and the South Africa Development Fund
at Doyle's Cafe, 3484 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, MA
If you are planning to attend, please rsvp to [email protected] or
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Nigeria: Criminal justice system utterly failing Nigerian people;
majority of inmates not convicted of any crime
Amnesty International Press Release
February 26, 2008
For a full copy of the report visit http://www.amnesty.org or
contact Eliane Drakopoulos, Press Officer, Amnesty International, Email: Tel: +44 207 413
5564, Mobile: +44 7778 472 109
(Abuja, Nigeria) Amnesty International today exposed the
appalling state of Nigeria's prison system, saying that Nigeria's
prisons are filled with people whose human rights are being
systematically violated.
The organization said that the criminal justice system is utterly
failing the Nigerian people, calling it a "conveyor belt of
injustice, from beginning to end."
In a detailed and scathing 50-page report, the organization
reveals how at least 65 percent of Nigeria's inmates have never
been convicted of any crime, with some awaiting trial for up to
ten years; how most in Nigerian prisons are too poor to afford a
lawyer, with only one in seven awaiting trial having access to
private legal representation -with only 91 legal aid lawyers
working in the country; and how appalling prison conditions,
including severe overcrowding, are seriously damaging the mental
and physical health of thousands.
Torture by police is also routine and widespread, with
"confessions" extracted by torture often used as evidence in
trials.
"The problems in Nigeria's criminal justice system - especially
its prisons -- are so blatant and egregious that the Nigerian
government has had no choice but to recognize them -- and has
pledged many times that it will reform the system," said Aster
van Kregten, speaking at a press conference in Abuja.
"However, the reality is that those in prison stand little chance
of their rights being respected. Those without money stand even
less chance. Some could end up spending the rest of their lives
behind bars in appalling conditions without ever having been
convicted of a crime -- sometimes simply due to their case files
having been lost by the police."
"Many inmates awaiting trial are effectively presumed guilty -
despite the fact that there is little evidence of their
involvement in the crime of which they are accused."
Amnesty International also revealed how all too often, people not
suspected of committing any crime are imprisoned along with
convicted criminals. Some were arrested in place of a family
member the police could not locate; others suffer from mental
illness and were brought to prison by families unable or
unwilling to take care of them. Most have no lawyer to advocate
on their behalf.
In one such case, Bassy, a 35-year-old woman with mental illness,
was brought to prison by her brother, who said the family could
no longer cope with her. Prison authorities classified Bassy as a
"civil lunatic." Accused of no crime and never brought before a
judge, Bassy spent almost three years in prison, sleeping on the
floor in a cell with 11 women. After the intervention of PRAWA, a
Nigerian non-governmental organization dealing with the
incarceration of mentally ill prisoners, Bassy was finally
transferred to a hospital, where she is now receiving treatment.
"When a state arrests or imprisons someone solely because they
are a relative of a suspect or because they suffer from mental
illness, they are violating that persons right not to be
subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention - a right guaranteed
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said van Kregten.
Cases take so long to get to court that once an inmate has been
tried and convicted, they are reluctant to launch an appeal. Even
those claiming innocence say they risk staying in prison longer
waiting for their appeal to be heard and than if they simply
serve their sentence.
Amnesty International also highlighted the plight of prison
staff, who work long and stressful hours for low wages that are
often paid late. Poor pay often leads to petty extortion of
prisoners, and staff shortages create security risks for both
staff and inmates. Inmates are often relied on to govern
themselves and have taken on disciplinary functions, including
meting out corporal punishment, close confinement and diet
restrictions - all of which do not comply with international
standards.
"The Nigerian government is simply not complying with its
national and international obligations when it comes to the
criminal justice system in Nigeria and must begin to do so
seriously and urgently," said van Kregten. "The conditions we saw
and the stories we heard from inmates are a national scandal."
Background information
The Nigerian government has, on numerous occasions, stated its
willingness to reform the criminal justice system, acknowledging
its role in creating a situation of prolonged detention and
overcrowding. Despite many presidential commissions and
committees recommending reform, the recommendations have not been
implemented. Instead, the government has set up new committees
and commissions to study, review and harmonize the previous
recommendations.
Nigeria: Prisoners' rights systematically flouted
AI Index: AFR 44/001/2008 Amnesty International February 2008
For a link to the full report and other Amnestry International reports on Nigeria,
see http://tinyurl.com/2fzwr9
1. Introduction
Nigeria's prisons are filled with people whose human rights are
systematically violated. Approximately 65 per cent of the
inmates are awaiting trial most of whom have been waiting for
their trial for years. Most of the people in Nigeria's prisons
are too poor to be able to pay lawyers, and only one in seven of
those awaiting trial have private legal representation. Although
governmental legal aid exists, there are too few legal aid
lawyers for all the cases that require representation.
Living conditions in the prisons are appalling. They are damaging
to the physical and mental well-being of inmates and in many
cases constitute clear threats to health. Conditions such as
overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of food and medicines and
denial of contact with families and friends fall short of UN
standards for the treatment of prisoners. The worst conditions
constitute ill-treatment. In many Nigerian prisons inmates sleep
two to a bed or on the floor in filthy cells. Toilets are
blocked and overflowing or simply nonexistent, and there is no
running water. As a result, disease is widespread.
Most prisons have small clinics or sick bays which lack
medicines, and in many prisons inmates have to pay for their own
medicines. Guards frequently demand that inmates pay bribes for
such �privileges� as visiting the hospital, receiving visitors,
contacting their families and, in some cases, being allowed
outside their cells at all. Prisoners with money may be even
allowed mobile phones, whereas those without funds can be left
languishing in their cells. One inmate said: "If you don't have
money, if you come to prison, you will suffer. They collect
money from you. It is not right."
The Nigerian government has, on numerous occasions, stated its
willingness to reform the criminal justice system, acknowledging
its role in creating a situation of prolonged detention and
overcrowding. Despite many Presidential Commissions and
Committees recommending reform of the criminal justice system,
these recommendations have not been implemented. Instead, the
government has simply set up new committees and commissions to
study, review and harmonize the previous recommendations. The
reality remains that those in prison stand little chance of
their rights being respected. Those who lack money stand even
less chance.
1.1 Amnesty International's research
In July 2007 Amnesty International delegates visited 10 prisons
in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Enugu, Lagos and Kano
States. The delegates also visited a psychiatric hospital in
Enugu State which housed a number of people with mental illnesses
who had been transferred there from prison. These locations were
chosen to ensure a geographic, ethnic and religious spread
across the country. The prisons included a mixture of some of
Nigeria's main detention facilities as well as small prisons in
rural areas.
The delegates conducted interviews with prison directors, medical
staff, wardens and around 250 prisoners. These included 55
women; almost 160 prisoners who were awaiting trial; and 37 who
had been sentenced to death. In most prisons the delegates spoke
to inmates in private and in some they interviewed them through
the bars of their cells. The Amnesty International delegates
also spoke to state Commissioners of Police, state Attorneys
General, judges, magistrates, lawyers, and human rights
non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At federal level, Amnesty
International had meetings with the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), the Legal Aid Council (LAC) and senior
representatives of the Nigeria Police Force. Unfortunately, the
delegates were not able to meet with the Minister of Interior or
the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, who had other
obligations following their recent appointment.
Amnesty International's researchers enjoyed full access to all
the prisons they visited, and appreciated the co-operation of
the headquarters of the Nigeria Prison Service in preparing for
the visit, as well as during the visit itself. Amnesty
International regrets that the delegates' meeting with the
Comptroller General of Prisons, scheduled several weeks before
their visit and confirmed twice, was cancelled only minutes
before it was due, because, according to the prison authorities,
they required clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After leaving Nigeria, Amnesty International shared its findings
in writing with the Federal Minister of Interior, the Attorney
General and the Minister of Justice and the Comptroller General
of Prisons and asked for reactions and clarification. At the time
of going to press, only the Minister of Interior had responded,
saying that �The Nigerian government is not unaware of most of
the observations� The various ongoing reform initiatives are
intended to provide short, medium and long-term solutions to
most of the nagging problems.�
This report is based on testimonies of inmates and on the
interviews held with all stakeholders. To respect the
confidentiality of the people concerned, Amnesty International
has not used the inmates' real names.
1.2 Government failure to implement recommended reforms
Many national and international organizations1 have warned the
Nigerian government of the human rights violations occurring in
the criminal justice system. In recent years, the Nigerian
government has frequently expressed willingness to improve prison
conditions and access to justice for those on pre-trial
detention (inmates awaiting trial). The establishment of a
Presidential Taskforce on Prison Reforms and Decongestion led to
the release of around 8,000 prisoners in 1999. However, no
long-term policy was adopted to address the problems in prisons
and within a few years they were as congested as they had been
before the release.
In June 2001, the then Minister of Interior, Chief Sunday
Afolabi, said that the government would review prison laws and
prison reform, train personnel, rehabilitate inmates and
revitalize the prison system with the Prison Reforms Program. It
is reported to have spent NGN2.4 billion. In July 2002 President
Olusegun Obasanjo, himself a former inmate, described the
situation of inmates awaiting trial as �inhuman�.
Since 2000, several working groups and committees on prison
reforms have been established:
- The National Working Group on Prison Reform and Decongestion
reviewed 144 prisons and revealed in its 2005 report that the
population of Nigerian prisons over the previous 10 years had
totalled between 40,000 and 45,000 inmates, most of them
concentrated in the state capitals. Of those, 65 per cent were
awaiting trial.
- The Inter-Ministerial Summit on the State of Remand Inmates in
Nigeria's Prisons was established in 2005 to review the report
of the previous Working Group on Prison Reform. It recommended
the Federal Government respond to the problem of inmates
awaiting trial, pay more attention to rehabilitation, and address
the issue of the large number of inmates awaiting trial due to
the shortage of defence counsel. ...
- In 2006, the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and
Rehabilitation was established. This committee recommended
improving the conditions of service of prison and police
officials, and addressing the issues of prison congestion and the
large number of prisoners awaiting trial. When then President
Obasanjo received the committee's report, he said that the
Federal Government would implement its recommendations.6
- The Presidential Commission on the Reform of the Administration
of Justice (PCRAJ), established on 16 March 2006 to review the
administration of justice in Nigeria and propose sustainable
reforms, expressed concern that imprisonment was being overused,
including in cases of the non-violent persons suspected of minor
offences. ...
- The Committee on the Harmonization of Reports of Presidential
Committees Working on Justice Sector Reform reiterated in April
2007 the recommendations of the PCRAJ. ...
1.3 The impact of government reforms
A draft prison bill was presented to the National Assembly in
2004.15 However, by the end of 2007 this bill had still not
passed into law. Neither had the Police Act (Amendment) Bill, nor
any of the other acts aimed at reforming the criminal justice
system. The government has, on several occasions in 2006 and
2007, announced that it would release considerable numbers of
inmates, including those awaiting trial and those on death row.
This raised the expectations of inmates but did not lead to their
release. In the prisons Amnesty International visited in July
2007, none of the inmates whose release had been announced in
May 2007 had actually been released. ...
Amnesty International concludes that Nigeria does not take
seriously its responsibility towards its citizens in prison.
Recommendations made by national and international organizations
have failed to lead to any action by the government. The
recommendations of all governmental committees and commissions
appear to be little more than words, which have left the real
situation in Nigeria's prisons unchanged. Inmates awaiting trial
� especially those who cannot afford legal support � wait years
for their trial to take place; the prisons remain overcrowded;
prison authorities do not appear to receive the funds that have
been allocated to improving conditions. Amnesty International is
extremely concerned that few of the Nigerian government's
promises have been translated into action.
...
2. The judicial system
2.1 Arbitrary arrest and detention
"This woman did not do anything. She is in prison because her son
fought with someone. They could not get him." - A prison
officer, July 2007
All too often, individuals who are not suspected of committing
any crime are incarcerated in Nigeria's prisons along with those
suspected or convicted of crimes. Some were arrested in place of
a family member whom the police could not locate. Others suffer
from mental illness and were brought to prison to relieve their
families of responsibility for their care. Most are very poor
people who have no lawyer to advocate for them.
...
The Nigerian Constitution (Section 35) guarantees the right to be
brought before a court of law within a reasonable time. If there
is a court of competent jurisdiction within 40km, a reasonable
time is defined as one day; in all other cases �reasonable� is
considered to be two days or longer, depending on the distances
and circumstances.21 In practice, this is hardly ever
accomplished. The Nigeria Police Force claim they cannot
investigate a crime and interrogate suspects within such a short
time, saying: �There is no case that you can crack within 24
hours unless it is a traffic offence�.22
Individuals who are charged with crimes are routinely held in
pre-trial detention for extended periods, even when there is
little evidence to support the charge, where the accused person
poses little or no risk to society, or where the crime is not a
serious one. If Amnesty International's interviews are any
indication, pre-trial detention routinely exceeds one year, and
three to four years is not unusual. In a typical account, one
inmate told Amnesty International, "I have been here three
years. No progress - no bail. They just keep adjourning. I
cannot see what is happening in my case."
In virtually every prison, Amnesty International researchers
spoke to some inmates who reported that they had been awaiting
trial for seven years or more. For example, Sunday spent nearly
40 days in police and State CID detention before he was first
brought before a magistrate on 27 December 1999. He was 17 years
old at the time and had been arrested on suspicion of culpable
homicide. The magistrate did not have the jurisdiction to handle
his case and remanded him to prison pending a police
investigation, a practice known as a �holding charge�. At the
time of Amnesty International's visit, seven years and eight
months had passed, and he was still awaiting trial. The last
time Sunday was in court was in September 2006, and his case was
once more adjourned. The Magistrate Court continues to use the
holding charge to keep him imprisoned. Sunday is now 25 years old
and has spent nearly one-third of his life awaiting trial.
...
5. Conclusion
Prisoners in Nigeria are systematically denied a range of human
rights. Stakeholders throughout the Nigerian criminal justice
system are culpable for maintaining this situation.
The police do not bring suspects promptly before a judge or
judicial officer; despite the Nigerian Constitution's guarantee
that this will occur within 24 hours, it usually takes weeks �
and in some cases months � before suspects are brought before a
judge. Suspects are usually ill-treated in police custody; many
are denied their right to contact their families or a lawyer,
and in some police stations, suspects do not receive any food.
The police routinely use torture to extract confessions and,
despite this being widely acknowledged by the police themselves,
little is done to stop it. In addition, the police do not respect
the principle of the presumption of innocence.
The judiciary fails to ensure that all inmates are tried within
reasonable time; indeed, most inmates wait years for a trial.
When inmates are convicted, most courts do not inform them of
their right to appeal. Nor does the judiciary guarantee that all
suspects are offered legal representation. Few of the courts
take the necessary steps to end the use of evidence elicited as
a result of torture. In breach of national and international law,
the judiciary does not guarantee fair trial standards even in
the case of minors.
The prisons cannot ensure that conditions in all their facilities
are adequate for the health and well-being of the prisoners.
Severe overcrowding and a lack of funds have created a
deplorable situation in Nigeria's prisons.
The Federal Government has failed to implement the
recommendations of many study groups and presidential committees
over recent years. Few of the promises made by the Nigerian
government have been carried out and this has led to the current
problems being experienced in the country's prisons.
The opening of prisons to non-governmental organizations has had
a positive effect: NGOs bring food, educational materials and
lawyers into the prisons. They organize religious activities,
offer counselling and teach inmates. However, NGOs are not
primarily responsible for the welfare of the inmates. It is time
the Nigerian government faces up to its responsibilities for
those in its prisons.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues,
with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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