Justice

A group, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errant (CURE-Nigeria) has urged the Federal Government to use alternatives to imprisonment to reduce overwhelming number of awaiting trial inmates in the country.

The News Agency of Nigetia, NAN, reports that the Executive Director of CURE-Nigeria, Mr Sylvester Uhaa, who gave the advice at a news briefing in Enugu on Thursday, said it would also reduce cost of running prisons nationwide.

He said the advice became necessary due to a development whereby no fewer than 50, 427 prisoners were awaiting trial in various prisons, representing 67 per cent of the 74, 508 prisoners in the country.

He said that throughout the world, alternatives to incarceration such as parole, community service, suspended sentences and probation had become very popular and viable options of punishment to decongest prisons.

Uhaa said that ACJ Act 2015 provides for the options of punishing prison inmates in Nigeria, adding that what remained was the implementation of the principles of the Act.

“We call on the Federal Government to make adequate budgetary provision for the implementation of alternatives to imprisonment in the 2018 budget,’’ he said.

Uhaa noted that reducing the number of pre-trial detainees would resolve prison overcrowding, limit the spread of diseases, reduce poverty and spur development.

“The present cohort of over 50,000 pre-trial detainees nationwide is a terrible waste of human potential that comes at a considerable cost to a country like Nigeria.

“The money used to feed innocent people in prison, which is currently N450 per day, can be used to renovate our schools, pay pensions and provide electricity.’’

He said that the chronic problem of pre-trial detention predominantly affected the poor and politically marginalised, powerless and lacked the money to hire a lawyer to facilitate pre-trial release.

“There are situations under which pre-trial detention is acceptable, for instance, when there is good reason to believe an arrestee, if released, will commit a crime, threatens a witness, or abscond.

”These conditions do not apply to most pre-trial detainees in our prisons.

“The majority of pre-trial detainees poses no threat to society and can be safely released, pending trial.

“This is why we are calling on the Federal and State Governments to take immediate steps to ensure the release of people illegally and innocently held in prison and detention centres throughout the country.