A recent investigative report titled Agony, despair: Many tales of Nigerian child prisoners by a journalist, Ameh Elekwonyilo, should be of interest to the Minister of Interior, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, and other concerned organisations.
The report, which was supported by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) Abuja, is a harrowing account of why the recent name change by the Nigerian Prisons Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service should be matched with concrete action to ensure that prisons in the country don’t remain overcrowded with long list of awaiting trial inmates, particularly child prisoners languishing in detention.
Following the visits to prisons/remand homes in Minna, Kaduna, Markurdi and Port Harcourt, the reporter gave a heart rending account of children in chains and all manner of deprivations contrary to the child rights act.
What the 2003 Child’s Rights Act of Nigeria provides for children offenders in Part Two Section 11 of the law is that “Every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and accordingly, no child shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treating or punishment, held in slavery or servitude, while in care of a parent, legal guardian or school authority or any other person or authority having the care of the child.”
What the reporter found was a total disregard for the above provision.
“Since I came to this prison in February 2018, my education came to an end. You can see that my mother and little sibling who is just twelve months old are also being held here for the same alleged offences. Our condition here is unbearable. The most painful part of our situation at the Suleja prison is the fact that I cannot go to school. Does that mean our lives are over?” Happiness, one of the children interviewed, wondered.
As much as the prison officials, the courts and others would want to abide by the provisions of the act, the report confirmed that they are overwhelmed by lack of necessary resources and personnel.
“We are overwhelmed by the challenges of difficulty of conveying the children to court during the hearing of their suits. Most of these inmates have not been to court for trial for the past two years. Also, the approved school which is supposed to provide education and skills for the children has since closed down due to lack of resources to run the school.
“Our mandate is hampered by the lack of resources like mobility to convey the inmates to court for trial. We lack water and electricity here as you can see. Our school lacks teachers, and therefore, it’s not functioning. So, how do we cater for the needs of transforming these inmates into better citizens?” two officials asked.
According to the trial magistrate at the Rivers State Juvenile Court, Mrs. Ibiere Foby, an ideal family court should have a magistrate and two assessors to hear and determine suits concerning children who come in conflict with the law, but that is not the case.
Instead of allowing the present deplorable situation to persist, there is an urgent need to heed the call of the Executive Director of PRAWA, Dr. Uju Agomoh, for sustainable intervention by both the government and private individuals to reposition these homes for better service delivery.
Adequate facilities must be provided while the child rights act is applied for child offenders. The cases of those being currently held should be urgently reviewed and not allowed to suffer unnecessarily.
We cannot afford to allow our reform and correctional services centres become places for raising hardened criminals, some of whom are innocent of the offences for which they are held.