By Ebere Agozie
The Working Group on the Legal Status of Inmates in Correctional Centres has urged the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi to intervene in cases of inmates who have stayed beyond the maximum period of imprisonment in detention.

Mr Olawale Fapohunda (SAN), the Facilitator of the group, made the call during the presentation of a report to the minister on Wednesday in Abuja.

Fapohunda noted that the first report of the group was set up to audit the legal status of inmates and has the mandate to investigate cases that are inconsistent with Section 35 of the 1999 Nigeria’s Constitution (as amended).

“This report provides a comprehensive review of the audit of the legal status of inmates in selected custodial centres in Nigeria.

“The audit exercise was carried out between January 13 and March 14 2025 which the process includes physical visitations to the custodial centres as well as interaction with inmates.

“Our mandate was mainly to focus on the legal status of inmates that have been kept in detention for a longer period than the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence.

He said that the group identified two distinct categories of inmates; inmates in remand for non capital offences who, after being arraigned, their cases were caught up by the slow judicial process and would require the active intervention of the State Ministries of Justice.

“The second category was those inmates remanded for capital offences, including terrorism.

“In one custodial centre, we discovered at least seven inmates remanded for offences relating to terrorism who have been on remand for upwards of 10 years from date of detention.

“We were unable to find any record that showed that they were brought before any court since the date of their detention’’.

Fapohunda also said that several inmates are kept in detention for periods longer than the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence because they do not have legal representation.

He noted that although the Legal Aid Council is mandated to provide free legal services to inmates without legal representation, it is presently under resourced and thus barely able to make significant difference.

“There were also inmates with life-threatening ailments who required urgent medical attention, the cost of which was outside the budget of the Correctional Services.

“There are also several minors, including those whose ages as stated on their warrants of detention were incompatible with their physical outlook’’.

He, however, noted that the findings of the working group have been subject of a number of previous interventions at the Federal and the State levels.

“The challenge has always been the absence of coordinated and sustained solutions at the Federal and State levels.

“The group noted the cynicism with which many of the remand inmates viewed the presence of the working group.

“They simply did not believe that this exercise will change their situation. In one particular custodial centre, many of the inmates decided to boycott the exercise.

“The group had to rely on documentations from the Correctional Services and the Courts.

“ It is for this reason that the group resolved to identify key concerns on a state-by-state basis, accompanied by a draft letter, signed by the Attorney-General of the federation to each State Attorney- General urging their offices to take action,” he said

The group recommended that the minister should convene a meeting of the Body of Attorneys-General, with a view to achieving a coordinated response between federal and state governments on the legal status of all inmates including but not limited to those who have overstayed without trial.

Responding, Fagbemi said the group was constituted as part of the mandate of his office to ensure access to justice and ensure that persons are not unduly detained in custodial centres.

“This is crucial to achieving the standards we have set for ourselves in our effort to reform our criminal justice system.

“The vision of Mr President is for a criminal justice system that maintains law and order, deters crime, punish offenders, while at the same time strives to rehabilitate those offenders in order to facilitate their recovery and reintegration to society.

“A common objective of these reforms is to provide sustainable solutions to the issue of inmates spending unreasonable periods in detention, enhancing conditions in correctional centres and facilitating treatment.

“Rehabilitation and re-integration of inmates. While some progress have been made in varying measures, the reality is that we still have much to do.

“I must state that laws by themselves will not solve this problem. The solution, in my view, lies in the active intervention and collaboration of federal and state institutions with a mandate on criminal justice delivery’’.

The minster expressed his concern about the inadequate resourcing for the Legal Aid Council which is a critical institution in the quest to facilitate access to justice.

“Enhanced funding for the council will be consistent with governments’ stated goals of affirming the rights of all Nigerians irrespective of social situation or economic status.

“Consequently, my office will intensify efforts aimed at achieving additional funding for the council’’, he added.

Mr Aliyu Abubakar, the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria expressed his appreciation for the opportunity given to the council to be part of the data collection exercise of inmates in our correctional facilities nationwide.

“The outcome of the exercise has been an eye opener even for us at the council. The sheer volume of inmates without Legal Representation is to say the least, disturbing especially for Inmates who are accused of capital offences.

“This lack of legal representation has not only resulted to over-crowding of the facilities by Awaiting Trial Inmates (ATI), but also contributed immensely in the denial of the suspects their Fundamental Human Rights as envisaged by the Constitution.

He, thereafter, appealed that the council be considered whenever the opportunity arises for Supplementary Budget by the government.(NAN)
edited by Sadiya Hamza