As Nigeria marks the African pretrial detention day across the 36 States of the federation, the national Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeks for better treatment for detainees.
The executive Secretary NHRC, Tony Ojukwu Esq said, “the Commission will continue to highlight and push for reforms and best practices in the Nigerian Criminal Justice System to ensure that crime suspects are treated in line with international best practices.”
He stated this at the Kuje Prisons Abuja on Thursday as the Commission commemorates the 2019 African Pretrial Detention Day in Abuja.
The Executive Secretary who was represented at the occasion by his Special Assistance, Mr. Benedict Agu said that this year’s theme, ‘Decrminalization of Petty Offences in Africa’ is apt given the urgent need to declassify minor offenses like loitering, being idle or disorderly and the likes in the Criminal Justice System, considering the overcrowded condition of prisons in Africa.
In his remarks, the Comptroller General of Prisons, Mr. Ja’afaru Ahmed represented by Comptroller of Prisons (CP), FCT Command Mr. S.N. Nwakuche said that the Prisons will continue to discharge their mandate of ensuring the safety, security and wellbeing of inmates across the nation, despite myriad of challenges confronting the service.
The Deputy Comptroller of Prison DCP Innocent Onoja who is also in charge of Kuje Prison said that diligent prosecution of suspects will go a long way to check prison congestion.
Some of the inmates of Kuje Prison, particularly those who were accused of minor offenses like loitering in the night were interviewed by the officials of the commission. They were accordingly advised on the necessary steps to take in order to secure their freedom.
