Awaiting trial inmates increases to 1,712 in Nassarawa

Umaru-Tanko-Al-makura-Nasarawa-state-governor

Mr Ekwere Ekanem, Controller of Nigeria Prison Service in Nasarawa state has disclosed that the population of awaiting trial inmates has increased from 1,143 to 1,712 within a month. He made the disclosure in Lafia on Tuesday.

Ekwere, who decried the increase, added that if the court continues with its slow pace of dispensing justice, the population of awaiting trial inmates in the state might further increase before the year end.

He said the increase in awaiting trial inmates had overstretched the resources of the prison officials and wondered how the command would cope with the high population in the state.

“I am worried because the population keeps increasing despite our lean resources. The population of awaiting trial inmates is more than double the population of convicted inmates.

“Lafia Prison alone is suppose to hold 300 but right now we have about 630.
“We are simply managing to cope with the awaiting trial inmates and very few are convicted to come back.

“Many of them go to court then come back because the court didn’t sit or adjourned their cases. Yet we receive new inmates regularly,” he said.

He also said the increasing population had overstretched the capacity of the prison clinics meant to cater for a limited number of inmates.

He appealed for assistance from all and sundry to prevent the spread of diseases.

According to him, for overcrowding in prisons to be a thing of the past, there is a dire need for improvement in the judicial process in the country.

He said it was through this process that brought in the inmates and it was only through that same process that could take them out.

Ekwere said the alternate plan would be to build additional prisons, but said that “there is a high tendency that it will also be overcrowded”.

He, however, opined that adequate funding from governments and private donors would go a long way in alleviating the hardship faced by some of the inmates.

“I am appealing to the governments and private individuals to come to our aid by assisting us with all the necessities to do our job well.

“The goal is to make all the inmates happy to avoid disharmony and we can only do that if we get the required assistance we deserve,” he said.

On Sept. 5, the Comptroller intimated journalists that awaiting trial inmates across the state was 1,143.