The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, LACoN, has sustained its quarterly visits to prisons across the country despite lean resources, reaffirming its commitment to decongesting custodial facilities and ensuring access to justice for indigent inmates.
LACoN Assistant Director, Press, Amaka Agbaih in a statement, Friday, said that in continuation of its mandate, a team of lawyers, visited the prison to interface with awaiting trial inmates and take up cases of those without legal representation.
The team was led by Assistant Director, Ogechukwu Ibenegbu, who represented the Director-General, Aliu Bagudu Abubakar. She also stood in for the Director of the Decongestion Unit, Oliver Chukwuma.
During the visit, inmates without legal representation were identified and documented for court appearances within the Federal Capital Territory and Niger State.
The team also offered counselling and legal advice to several inmates whose matters are pending before various courts.
Speaking during the interaction, the Assistant Controller of Corrections, Sunday Ejeh, highlighted operational challenges facing the facility.
He disclosed that the prison’s major constraint is inadequate operational vehicles, noting that the four currently available are insufficient to convey inmates to the numerous courts they attend daily.
Ejeh further revealed that the prison’s clinic requires urgent attention.
According to him, the laboratory is non-functional and there is a shortage of basic drugs for minor ailments, forcing the prison to rely largely on medical outreaches by visiting organisations.
He added that the training section is limited due to the absence of computers and other learning materials needed to establish an Open University study centre for inmates.
However, the Council commended the authorities of the prison for maintaining a standard borehole that provides adequate water supply within the facility.
The female section of the prison was described as well organised, with the 40 inmates currently in custody actively engaged in vocational training.
They were observed learning and specialising in skills such as tailoring, knitting, bead making, and bag and shoe production.
Overall, the Council noted that the inmates appeared healthy, with no visible cases of skin rashes observed during the visit.
In her closing remarks, Ibenegbu thanked the officer in charge of the prison for granting the team access and ensuring that the Council’s activities were conducted smoothly.
She also appealed for the adoption of an online system for the submission of details of awaiting trial inmates in need of legal representation to enhance timely intervention by the Council.
