The Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI), a civil society organisation, says pretrial detention has resulted in overcrowding at correctional centres across Nigeria.
It said 75 per cent of inmates in the country are pretrial detainees.
President, NULAI, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, said this at an event tagged ‘Reforming Pretrial Detention in Nigeria (RPDN): Project Retrospective Outlook Close-out Session’ organised in Abuja yesterday.
Ojukwu, who was represented by Executive Director of NULAI, Mukhtar Nasiru, said: “The figure in Nigeria is 75% cent and it has been consistent. What I mean by 75% is that for every 100 people in the correctional centre, 75% of them are pretrial detainees.
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“This means that their cases have not been decided. They’ve not been convicted. Only 25% have been convicted.”
He said NULAI had resolved about 1,400 pretrial detention cases in the Federal Capital Territory and Keffi, Nasarawa State, in five years.
“Over 500 law students have been able to support pro bono lawyers to intervene in pre-trial detention cases and over 1,400 cases have been resolved,” he stated.
David Greene, Charge’ d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Nigeria, said the challenge of pretrial detention was not peculiar to Nigeria.
He said, “It is universal. The fundamental principle of any democratic society like Nigeria is not just the rule of law, but there must be a functioning justice system.”
The Controller-General, Nigeria Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, who was represented by Adamu Yahaya, the agency’s Controller, Custodial, said the major challenge in the custodial centres was overcrowding of the facilities.
The event was supported by the United States’ Department of State International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and Partners Global.
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