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Nigeria: Report reveals scandal of nation’s criminal justice system

Nigeria’s prisons are filled with people whose human rights are being systematically violated, Amnesty International said today in a report exposing the appalling state of the nation’s correctional system, reports CISA News.

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,” Aster van Kregten, Amnesty’s Nigeria researcher, said 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.

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.

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.

“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.”

[02/28/2008]

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