Again: Federal Government tries to decongest Nigeria Prisons

THE Federal Government has said that 71 per cent prisons inmates across the country are awaiting trial, describing the trend as unacceptable.

Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, said this while inaugurating a 13-man Presidential Inter-Ministerial Committee on decongestion of prisons nationwide in Abuja on Friday.

He described the huge number of persons incarcerated in prisons nationwide as a “time bomb,” but added that the government was set to finish the decongestion of prisons by December.

According to him, about 41, 524 persons are locked up in prisons nationwide, with 29, 372 awaiting trial.

“This translates to about 71 per cent of inmates’ population, which is unacceptable,” Moro said.

The minister said it was against this backdrop that President Goodluck Jonathan approved the constitution of the committee that has been charged with the responsibility of finding the causes of prisons’ congestion.

He said this would enable the government to take urgent steps to decongest the prisons before the end of this year.

Comrade Moro expressed sadness that the last 25 years of progressive congestion had robbed prisons administration of the ability to focus on its primary mandate.   

“What the prisons have been doing all these years is to ensure safe and secure custody of suspects awaiting trial, rather than training and reforming convicted persons.

“There is a progressive decline in the convict population as ratio of overall prison population from 60% in 1985 to 29% in 2013. This is not good for national security and social development,” he added.

The Committee which has the Director, PRS, Federal Ministry of Interior, Alhaji Ibrahim Nikau, as the chairman was given end of June to submit its report. http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/12316-fg-moves-to-decongest-prisons