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Tag: Prison

  • Prison fellowship Nigeria gets new board chairman, ceo

    Prison fellowship Nigeria gets new board chairman, ceo

    Prison Fellowship Nigeria rose from its  Annual General Meeting in Ogun State with new leadership at both the board and executive levels.

    Dr Olayide Adelami, mni becacame the new Board Chairman, succeeding Mrs Dorcas Din who has finished her term.

    A seasoned technocrat and public administrator, His Excellency, Dr Olayide Adelami, mni is the Deputy Governor of Ondo State and previously served as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.

    He was the Board’s Second Vice Chairman before his appointment. 

    Also at the AGM, a new Executive Director/CEO was inaugurated. He is Dr Jacob Tsado whose appointment had earlier been announced by the Board of Trustees.

    Dr Tsado took over the mantle of leadership from Barr. Benson Iwuagwu who retired after 19 meritorious years of service to the organisation.

    Dr Tsado was formerly a Research Fellow and Director of Publications at the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Nigeria, and a founding member of Prison Fellowship Nigeria.

    The Fellowship also announced the appointment of Professor Chioma Agomo as the First Vice Chairman of Board while Engineer Yinka Oyewole is the Second Vice Chairman.

    Prison Fellowship Nigeria is chartered with Prison Fellowship International which has chapters in over 120 countries.

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    Prison Fellowship Nigeria is also an observer member of the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples Rights. 

    The Africa Regional Director of Prison Fellowship International, Ashella Ndhlovu, who graced the occasion on behalf of the International President, Andy Corley, paid glowing tribute to Barr. Benson Iwuagwu, the former Executive Director, for his outstanding service to the organisation.

    Speaking during the ceremonial handing over, the former Board Chairperson, Dorcas Din, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve God and humanity and urged members of the Fellowship to rededicate themselves to the task of reforming and reintegrating inmates.

    The new Chairman, Dr Adelami, promised that the Board would devote full attention to ensuring policies and mobilisation of resources that would uplift the Fellowship and strengthen its capacity to achieve its goals.

     In his inaugural address, the new Executive Director, Dr Jacob Tsado, said he was humbled to be stepping into the big shoes handed over by Barr. Iwuagwu.

    He called for renewed efforts by all members to uplift the Fellowship.

    He promised to work with stakeholders in pursuing restorative justice as well as the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.

    Dr Tsado thanked stakeholders, particularly the Nigerian Correctional Service, Prison Fellowship International, SMEDAN, Covenant University and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IIDEA) for their support and belief in the vision of the Fellowship.

  • Save over 5,000 Nigerians dying in Chinese prison, ex-inmate pleads

    Save over 5,000 Nigerians dying in Chinese prison, ex-inmate pleads

    The inmates of Dongguan Foreign Prison, many of them Nigerians, are enduring unimaginable suffering and injustice, according to a heartbreaking testimony by an ex-inmate.

    It was gathered that this labour camp masquerading as a prison has become a living nightmare for over 5,000 Nigerians, many of whom are innocent of the crimes they were charged with.

    A former inmate, Mr. Onowu Chukwuemeka, who spent 15 years in the prison, painted a grim picture of the daily horrors faced by the prisoners.

    He revealed that the majority of Nigerians incarcerated there were wrongfully accused, with their court-appointed attorneys often compromised and working for the Chinese government.

    According to him, the inmates are forced to work grueling hours for various manufacturing companies, with the promise of reduced sentences if they meet their targets.

    This, he said, is a cruel lie, as even those who work themselves to the bone are not granted any leniency.

    “Inmates who fail to meet their quotas are subjected to merciless beatings, starvation and solitary confinement.

    “The working conditions are deplorable, with no safety equipment provided.

    “Many inmates have died from inhaling toxic fumes, melted plastics, and other hazardous materials while assembling products like phone chargers, headphones, and lamps.

    “The meager food they (prisoners) receive, consisting of half-cooked rice and vegetables, is barely enough to sustain them,” he said.

    Onowu noted that the Nigerian Ambassador’s visits to the prison and his attempts to address some of the horrifying issues during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was the only spark of hope that have been seen by these hapless Nigerians. 

    “Even that effort eventually failed due to the change in government, leading to the cessation of visits from the Nigerian embassy.

    “Under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, in spite of the outrage from the prison and human rights organisations, neither the Nigerian Ambassador in China nor his emissary made any effort to visit the prison again for the eight years of that administration.

    “All the proposed negotiations with the Chinese government by the Jonathan government were apparently abandoned under the new government.

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    “The inmates now live in constant fear with the threat of solitary confinement silencing those who dare to speak out.

    “The Dongguan Foreign Prison has become a nightmarish labour camp, where Nigerians are exploited, abused and denied their basic human rights,” he said.

    Efforts to reach the prison authorities were impossible as they made all communications in their access portal in the Chinese language.

    Against the foregoing, Onowu appealed to the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, intervene to secure the release of the innocent and put an end to the rampant egregious violations of human dignity going on in Dongguan Foreign Prison, China.

  • Prison congestion: stakeholders blame state laws

    Prison congestion: stakeholders blame state laws

    Stakeholders in the correctional sector have blamed state laws for the over crowding of correctional facilities in the country.

    They said out of the 81,742 inmates across various facilities in the country, about 70 per cent of them are awaiting trial and data has shown that 90 per cent of people in facilities are actually state offenders whom in some cases committed petty crimes.

    Executive Director Hope Behind Bars Africa, Mrs. Funke Adeoye, said most criminal laws are state laws, which creates more offenders making the Federal government spend billions to take care of which can be corrected when states are made to set up their own facilities.

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    She said most laws are akin to increased custodial measures but the Nigerian Correctional Service act creates room for alternatives to incarceration, which is known as non custodial sanctions.

    The Executive Director said this yesterday in Abuja during a national dialogue on enlisting state Corrections in Nigeria.

    She said: “We have a large number of awaiting trial inmates in Nigeria, about 70 per cent of people in prison are awaiting trial. And we also have data that 90 per cent of people we find in our facilities are actually state offenders. That’s because most of the criminal laws are state laws.

    “And so this is an issue that needs to be addressed because we cannot have the federal government just taking care or feeding people that are incarcerated, even though many of them are state offenders. I think there is also data to show that billions of Naira is being spent by the federal government on feeding these inmates we are hopeful that at the end of this conversation today. We will have a trajectory as to where to go in terms of the management of state corrections in Nigeria.

    “There’s so many things that we can do with respect to state laws, one conversation that we have started earlier in the year, and which is very important is looking at alternatives to incarceration.”

  • One held for ‘attempting to smuggle hard drugs into prison’ 

    The Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) has apprehended Mr. Clement Jacob for allegedly attempting to smuggle substances suspected to be Indian hemp into Kuje Medium Security Prison.

    Jacob lives at Dei-Dei, near Abuja, one of the villages in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The substance, which was hidden in a sandal, was expected to be delivered to Emeka Onyejikachi, an inmate, who is in custody for a case of possession of hard drugs.

    Findings showed that Jacob ran out of luck when he exchanged his sandals with that of the inmate after his session at the prison facility.

    The Nation learnt that Inspector Hussain Ibrahim, the officer in charge of the visit area, noticed the quick exchange of footwear and requested for another search after the visiting session was over.

    A statement issued yesterday by the NPS, FCT Command Public Relations Officer, Chukwuedo  Humphrey, said: “During the search, Inspector Ibrahim tore open the foot of the sandals, thereby exposing the illegal transaction and discovering the hard drugs inside the sandals.

    “Upon interrogation, Jacob, pleading ignorance, said one Mrs. Emeka had called him to assist her in paying Emeka a visit.

    “He was also instructed to exchange his footwear with the inmate before leaving the premises.”

    The Controller of Prisons, FCT Command, Mustapha Illyasu Atta, praised the alertness of the officer and reminded the public and families of the inmates of their responsibility in ensuring that the inmates are properly reformed and rehabilitated.

    He pledged the commitment of the officers and men of the command to rid prisons in the command of illicit transactions capable of compromising security and discipline in the Service.

     

  • Alleged fraud: Court sends pastor to prison

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja yesterday ordered that a cleric, Pastor Dennis Ogbede, be remanded in prison custody.

    Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi gave the order shortly after Ogbede was arraigned on a three-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Justice Osho-Adebiyi ordered that Ogbede be kept in prison until he meets the conditions attached to the bail granted him.

    Ogbede, the director of Alidenco Systems Nigeria Ltd, was arraigned for allegedly defrauding Maje Umar Nafiu of Maje Investment and Construction Company Ltd to the tune of N35million in land acquisition in 2009.

    The EFCC also accused the defendant of presenting to Nafiu, fake land titles for Wumba area of the FCT.

    The commission alleged that Ogbede agreed to refund N25million through three post-dated Zenith Bank Plc cheques, which all failed to clear upon presentation at the bank in December, 2015.

    The offences violate Section 1(1) of Dud Cheque Offences Act and punishable under section (i) (i) of the same Act.

    Ogbede pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.

    After Ogbede’s arraignment, prosecution lawyer, Samuel Ugwuegbulem, sought a date for the commencement of trial.

    Defence lawyer Isaac Imo applied for bail for the defendant.

    Imo said the defendant is a religious leader and also has a pending civil suit in court, challenging the refund of the N35million.

    Ugwuegbulem said he would not oppose the bail application, because it was the discretion of the court to grant bail.

    Ruling, Justice Osho-Adebiyi granted bail to the defendant at N2million and two sureties in the like sum.

    The judge said the sureties must be civil servants, one which must be of the rank not less than Grade Level 14, with landed properties in the FCT.

    She adjourned till May 30 for trial.

     

  • FEC okays N2.8b contract for digital decongestion of prison

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved N2.8 billion  contract for digital decongestion of prisons.

    The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami briefed State House correspondents at the end of a meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, Minister of State Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, and Minister of FCT, Mohammed Bello.

    From the click of a button, Malami said that the stakeholders would be able to assess the daily situation of inmates in every prison in the country.

    The information to be obtained, according to him, include how many inmates in a prison on a daily basis, how many inmates have overstayed their sentences etcetera.

    Stressing that the system is to be operated by Prison staff, he said that it will also involve capturing the biometric of prison inmates across the country.

    He said: “At a point, it was said 70 percent of prison inmates across the prison formations in the country were awaiting trails. Arising from these concerns, the Federal Government has been working to come up with policies, legislation and associated programmes that are targeted at decongesting the prisons.

    “One of the policies put in place was the legislation of the criminal justice act, which has partially succeeded in addressing decongestion to an extent.

    “Recall that Mr. President had put in place an adhoc committee under the chairmanship of FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, to move around the prisons in the country, look at the conditions and come up with suggestion.

    “So, we are also aware that by the Constitution, Mr. President is vested with the prerogative of mercy targeted at setting free inmates that satisfy certain conditions.

    “Arising from this, the office of the attorney general presented a memo today, which is web-based automated inter-connectivity system, which is a digitalised way of decongesting the prisons.

    “The idea is to digitally connect all the prison formations to the office of the attorney general of the federation, the police, prison service and indeed selected courts.

    “The essence is to have an idea on the daily basis what obtains at our prisons across the nation. So, at a glance at a click of the button, one can access what obtains at the prisons across the country,” he said.

    He added: “For instance, who is going to court today, who is being released today, those that have been in prison longer than their years of sentence, who is in prison that is not meant to be there?

    “This will aid stakeholders in decision making on a daily basis through digital process of inter-networking. This is against an adhoc committee moving across the country to have physical presence in prisons,” he stated.

    On allegations by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that Federal Government is plotting to reverse Rivers S/Court judgment, Malami said that it was freedom of speech taken too far.

    Malami said: “Regarding that was levelled against me by PDP, I think it remains an accusation. It has to remain so until proven through a judicial process.

    “But for me I think it is freedom of speech that has been taken too far.” he said.

    Udoma said that the Federal Government’s N24.38 trillion debt stock was sustainable.

    He said: “With regards to our debts, our debts are sustainable. We do have a revenue challenge and we are focusing on that. Once the revenues come up, it will be obvious that we don’t have a debt problem at all.

    “We are working on a number of initiatives to increase our revenues. We are looking at initiatives to widening the tax payers’ net. We are looking at initiatives to increase efficiency in collections.

    “We are looking at a single window, which will help to increase efficiency, custom collections. We are looking at many different ways to improve revenues.

    “The debts are sustainable, every nation borrows. We are working on increasing our revenues,” he added.

    Read also: FEC approves N2.8 billion digital prison decongestion contract

    Udoma said that the executive arm of government is happy with the focus of the National Assembly on the 2019 Appropriation bill.

    “With regard to the budget, we are happy to see the focus of the National Assembly on the budget and we look forward to whenever it’s passed and the executive receiving it.”

    He also said that FEC approved two contracts under the national social investment programme.

    “Both of them are under N-Power Built programme. The  N-Power Built programme is a non-graduate  programme that seeks to deliver accelerated training and certification skills to 75,000 Nigerians between ages of 18-35 years old.

    “It aims to build a high crop of highly competent and skilled workforce of technicians, artisans and service professionals, who will be trained and tooled and transitioned annually to take up jobs as electrical installation technicians, plumbing and pipe fitting installers, mason, carpentry and gentry experts, welders, fabricators, professional painters, built technicians and so on.

  • Man remanded in prison for attempted burglary

    Tinubu Magistrates’ Court has remanded a 20-year-old man, Isiaka Ibrahim, following his arraignment for allegedly attempting to burgle a provision store.

    Magistrate  T. A. Anjorin-Ajose remanded the defendant in Ikoyi Prison after he pleaded guilty.

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fidelis Dike said the defendant committed the offence about 1:30am on February 9 at Sell and Pump Area, Ajah, Lagos.

    He alleged that the accused attempted to burgle a provision store belonging to Mrs. Ayomide Temilola.

    “The defendant was caught in the act by neighbours, who heard noise coming from the ceiling of the store,” Dike said.

    The magistrate adjourned the case till March 6.

     

  • OAU ‘sex for mark professor’ remanded in prison custody

    A Federal High Court, sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Monday ordered that a “sex for mark” sacked senior lecturer of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Professor  Richard Akindele, to be remanded in prison custody.
    The presiding judge, Justice Maurine Onyetenu, ordered that Akindele be remanded in prison at Ilesa for demanding sex from her post graduate student,  Monica Osagie, before she could pass his course.
    The embattled Professor of Management and Accounting was arraigned in court on a four count charge by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offenses Commission (ICPC).
    The anti-graft agency alleged that the accused unlawfully demanded sex from his student and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section A (1)(2) of the corrupt practices and other related offences.
    The charge sheet read in part: “That you Professor Richard Iyiola Akindele on 16 September, 2018, did unlawfully solicit for sex from your student Monica Osagie, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 of the corrupt practices and other related offences, 2000.”
    The caused person was also alleged to have unlawfully had WhatsApp conversation with Osagie sometimes in June 2018, and thereby committed an offence contrary to the law.
    Taking his plea, the accused pleaded not guilty to the four count charge.
    The Defence Counsel, Mr. F. Omotosho, who urged the court to grant his client bail, said “he is a known professor and can not jump bail.”
    The prosecutor, who is a Senior legal officer with the ICPC, Mr. Kehinde Adetoye, opposed the oral bail application of the counsel, noting that the accused has refused to appear at the commission since he was granted administrative bail.
    He said: “We have been making efforts since 5th of November to effect the service of the process. They have refused to come back and they were not reachable on mobile phone. We are surprised to see them here today. We just served them the process.”
    In her ruling, Justice Onyetenu directed counsel to the accused to file a formal application for the bail of his client.
    She ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody at Ilesa and therefore, adjourned the matter till November 27 for definite hearing.

  • 32-yr-old teacher defiles 8-yr-old in Rivers, goes to prison

    A Senior Magistrate’s Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has ordered that a 32-year-old teacher, Major A. Darima be remanded in prison, for allegedly defiling an eight-year-old pupil.

    Darima, a married man, allegedly invited his victim into his apartment at Teachers Quarters in  Ojims College in Rumuji, Emohua Local Government Area of the state, where he allegedly used his fingers to defile the minor, causing her injuries.

    He was alleged to have carried out the act at 3pm on October 11, after school hours.

    Prosecutor Godwin Nwinam said the offence contravened Section 218 of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol. II Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.

    The suspect pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge.

    His lawyer, simply identified himself as Mr. Oroke applied for his bail, but the court presided over by Magistrate Gomba Osaro turned down the request.

    The magistrate ordered that the suspect be remanded in prison custody and his case file forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.

    The case was adjourned to November 29,  for DPP’s advice.

  • Presidential committee on amnesty visits Jos Prison

    As part of its mandate to recommend inmates serving jail terms in various prison formations for amnesty, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, on Friday visited the Jos Prison.

    Mr. Williams Aloh, the Vice Chairman of the committee said the rationale for the visit was to basically recommend prisoners serving their jail terms in the prison for amnesty.

    On Aug. 28, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice;  Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) inaugurated the committee.

    According to Aloh, the committee would only consider inmates convicted over federal offences.

    “Section 175 of the 1999 constitution, as amended clearly gives the president the powers to consider and pardon inmates based on the recommendations of this committee.

    “As a president who stands for justice and fairness, he has decided to constitute this committee to go round all prison formations and recommend inmates to be granted amnesty.

    “We do not have the power to grant pardon to any inmate; ours is to just recommend to the president based on the available information.

    “So, the committee is here in Jos Prison to carry out its assignment,” he said.

    Speaking during the visit, Justice Yakubu Dakwak, the Chief Judge of Plateau urged the committee to include in its recommendations, the need for government to address unemployment in the country.

    Dakwak said high rate of unemployment, particularly among the youths had largely contributed to making them available for various crimes.

    He also stressed the need for government to check the importation of hard drugs into the country, so as to minimize incidences of crimes being committed under their influence.

    In his welcome address, Mr Daniel Odharo, the Controller of Prisons, Plateau Command, said the command had 1, 701 inmates spread across the eight prison formations under it.

    He explained that the Jos Prison was among the five under the grade “A” prisons in the country.

    NAN