The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Prison

  • 195 Nigerians in Moroccan prisons for drug crimes – Envoy

    Amb. Baba Garba says there are 195 Nigerians in prisons in Morocco for drug related crimes.

    Garba, the Nigerian Ambassador to Morocco told our correspondent in Rabat, Morocco, that the government was yet to have a prisoner transfer agreement with Morocco.

    “We have the menace of Nigerians that come from Latin America, transiting Morocco that are carriers of drugs.

    “We have a number of them in prisons purely for drugs; I send the figures officially to government, there are 195 of them in prisons.

    “We have a bi-national commission and we are proposing end of June or the first week of July because of the Ramadan.

    “It is at this forum we will talk to our Moroccan counterparts about a prisoner transfer agreement but at this point we do not have such agreement.”

    The envoy, however, said there were excellent relations both countries adding that the outcome of the visit of the Moroccan king to Nigeria in 2016 had boost bilateral relations.

    “Since 2017 up on till now, we have not had farmers complain about shortage of fertiliser in NIgeria; this is one of the gains.

    We have had many agreements signed with Morocco in different sectors and we are pursuing them.

    We have have had agreements signed in transport, climate change, lagoon and river control.

    He also added that an average of 50 students from Nigeria were being offered scholarships by the Moroccan Government.

    Some students are trained in Qur’anic recitation and trained to be Imams; here the king is a leader of the faith and every mosque here is well documented and there are checks and balances.

    “If we have such systems imported in our country it will checkmate certain things.”

    He further said no less than 3000 Nigerians lived in Morocco.

    NAN

  • Artisan remanded in prison for ‘defiling’ daughter, 4

    An upholstery maker, Taiwo Opasina, 29, who is facing a three-count charge of incest, has been remanded in prison by an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court.

    The accused was arraigned for unlawful and indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse and penetrative sex with a minor.

    He pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting Inspector Chinalu Uwadione alleged that the accused committed the offences in December 2017 at 17, Magbaola Street, Badore in Ajah, a Lagos suburb.

    He told the court that the accused on several occasions defiled his daughter and inserted his fingers into the private part of the four-year-old (names withheld).

    “The teacher in the school of the victim noticed that she had been lately withdrawn and quiet.

    “On enquiry, she told the teacher about her father’s act,” he said.

    Chief Magistrate A. Ipaye-Nwachukwu remanded the accused in prison and ordered that his bail  be  secured at the special offences court.

    She adjourned the case till April 9 for receipt of legal advice from the state Director of Public Prosecution.

  • Suspected cultists remanded in prison for allegedly smashing teenager’s head

    Two suspected cultists,  Sikiru Ajibade and Gafar Isah, who allegedly smashed the head of a teenager, have been remanded in Kirikiri Prisons on the orders of an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    Ajibade, 34, a.k.a. Farakin and Isah,25, a.k.a. Eti, who allegedly belong to O-Strong and Ijikenji Confraternity, were brought before the court on a charge of murder.

    Their pleas were not taken by the magistrate, who said the court lacked the jurisdiction to try murder case.

    The Chief Magistrate, Mr M.O. Olajuwon, said the accused should be kept behind bars pending  advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    Earlier, the police prosecutor, Inspector Babatope Julius, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime in October 2016 on Lagos Island.

    He alleged that the accused, suspected cultists had unlawfully killed a 19-year-old, Charles Igbinovia, by smashing his head with a stone.

    The offence violates Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    The case has adjourned until Feb. 28 pending the DPP’s advice

  • Ikoyi Prison: Fed Govt, Lagos in relocation talks

    Ikoyi Prison: Fed Govt, Lagos in relocation talks

    Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, has said that the state is negotiating with the Federal Government to relocate the Ikoyi Prison.
    Kazeem said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode initiated the plan to move the prison from Ikoyi, to a more spacious location in a less heavily-built-up part of the state, possibly Epe.
    Kazeem, who is the Esquire Magazine Attorney-General of the Year, spoke to law editors and reporters at Alausa.
    He disclosed that if the Federal Government cooperates, the state would construct a new Ikoyi Prison, which would be a world-class correctional facility with adequate provision for hygiene, accommodation, feeding and other needs.
    Kazeem said: “We are very passionate about prison reform. Unfortunately, issues of prisons are on the exclusive legislative list. They are things not within our control but we can’t look away, that is the reality.
    “The police is not under our control but we have made major interventions in that area because it affects us, and I can tell you for free that almost all the security services that operate here, including the prisons, have received one intervention or the other from the Lagos State Government.
    “There is an ongoing matter with Ikoyi Prison. Discussions have been ongoing with the Federal Government to relocate the prison to possibly Epe or some other location and free up that space.
    “The whole idea is that that prison is decongested and is right in the middle of the city. Now what we are going to agree with the Federal Government, (includes to) get the designs and build a world-class prison facility.
    “In America they call them correctional facility, because you’re supposed to correct the behaviour of people that go in there so that they can come out and become better people in the society. So, that’s one of the things we have to do.
    “His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi has said that he will intervene, even though it is a federal problem, so to speak, but we have no choice, because it deals with issues in Lagos State.
    “So, there are issues in (Ikoyi) prison about infrastructure, hygiene, accommodation, food and several others. I’ve visited there, so I know.
    “I had my Special Assistant on Criminal Prosecution, Dr Babajide Martins, do a major report in conjunction with the Comptroller-General of Prisons of Lagos State to identify a lot of those things.
    “So I’m sure that once we start work in earnest this year, we’ll begin to look at those things that will also address a lot of these congestion issues.”
    Kazeem also shed light on the controversial nolle prosequi (Latin for ‘We shall no longer prosecute’) entered by Lagos State to discontinue the prosecution of a British-Indian businessman, Deepak Khilnani, accused of an alleged $8.8million (approximately N3.168billion) fraud.
    He said it was discovered that in the past, mischievous litigants manipulated the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to “settle scores.”
    Following a reorganisation of the department, cases with no conviction potential or those that were non-criminal were eased off the prosecution list.
    One of such cases that were civil in nature, Kazeem noted, was the Khilnani case.
    “The DPP’s office was used to settle scores, scores that are not criminal, scores that are commercial,” Kazeem said.

  • Vagrant bags 1 year in prison over phone theft

    A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court in Abuja yesterday sentenced a vagrant, Abubakar Usman, 26, to one year imprisonment for stealing a cell phone worth N42, 000.

    Usman was arraigned on one-count charge of theft.

    The Judge, Mr Abubakar Sadiq, sentenced the convict accordingly when he pleaded guilty to the charge.

    He warned the convict to be of good behaviour and to desist from committing crimes after serving his punishment.

    The Prosecuting Counsel, Mrs Florence Auhioboh, had informed the court that one Ofagbonmu Gideon of plot 214, Katampe Street, Kubwa, Abuja, reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station on December 26.

    Auhioboh said on the said date at about 6pm, the complainant went to Jabi Lake Recreation Park for an event where the convict removed his Infinix phone valued N42 000 from the complainant’s pocket.

    Auhioboh said during investigation, the convict admitted committing the offence, while the said phone was recovered from him.

    The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 287 of the Penal Code.

  • Pictures of prison

    Pictures of prison

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s stop at Kurmawa Prison on December 6 during his two-day visit to Kano State clearly highlighted Nigeria’s awful prison conditions.  Buhari pardoned 500 prisoners and empowered them with some cash.

    A report said: “At the Prison, he said: “I am pleased with this visit and I have learnt a bit more about the conditions of the prisons and inmates. This building in front of us was built since 1910. Rehabilitation of prisoners and training of inmates is very important to us and we would continue to invest more on this. I asked one of the inmates (released) how old he was and he told me he is only 19 years old. If we have people of 18 and 19 years in the prison, and there is no continuous training, then their lives will be completely destroyed. We will invest more in education and vocational training.’’  Buhari is expected to move from words to actions.

    According to the report, “The 500 inmates granted pardon, including men and women, were drawn from various prisons in Kano State, including Kurmawa Prisons, which has 1,398 inmates as opposed to 750, the established capacity.” The difference between the number of prisoners in the prison and the number of prisoners the prison was built to accommodate is alarming.

    Overpopulation has been a major prison problem for a long time, and it will remain problematic if nothing is done about it.  Consider another picture, which gives more insight into the overpopulation problem:  “Our prisons are congested. A facility meant to accommodate less than 600 inmates currently houses over 2,400 inmates. The inmates are mostly those in the ‘awaiting trial’ category.”

    This disturbing picture of the state of prisons across the country, and the state of Owerri Prison in particular, is a cause for concern.  The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri branch, Imo State, Lawrence Nwakaeti, who made the observations, said the prisons were in a deplorable state. It is a reason to call for reforms. Nwakaeti focused on “Judicial reforms and sustainable development in a democracy,” in an address at an event to mark the 2017/2018 legal year in the state.

    The prison system needs reforms to ensure that there are adequate prisons with adequate living conditions, but what is more important in the long run is more welfare spending by the government that will help reduce crime.

  • Nigerian gets 18 years in Vietnam prison for import scam

    Nigerian gets 18 years in Vietnam prison for import scam

    A Southern Vietnam court has sentenced a Nigerian  to 18 years in prison over a fake customs enforcement scam,  state media reported on Friday.

    A local media reported that Michael Ikechukwu Leonard, 45, was convicted on Thursday of “deceiving others to steal their assets” in a scam which targeted wealthy Vietnamese women.

    The court in Can Tho city determined that Leonard gained his victims’ trust on messaging apps using various alter egos, including a U.S. army officer.

    The convict was said to have promised  to send  his victims  valuable presents,  including laptops and jewellery from the U.S.

    Local accomplices,  Huynh Ha Binh, Huynh Ha Uyen and Nguyen Tran Quynh Nhi,  would then contact the women claiming to be customs agents and demand fees or fines for the non-existent shipments.

    They successfully conned a woman in Can Tho out of  28,500 dollars, leading to their arrest.

    It is unclear how many women were duped by the gang in total.

    Leonard’s accomplices received sentences ranging from 12 to 15 years.

    Read Also: NPS probes death of awaiting trial inmate at Ikoyi Prison

     

  • Prison overpopulation

    •The way out is to reform the system as well as spend more on social welfare programmes

    Our prisons are congested. A facility meant to accommodate less than 600 inmates currently houses over 2,400 inmates. The inmates are mostly those in the ‘awaiting trial’ category.” This alarming picture of the state of prisons across the country, and the state of Owerri Prison in particular, is a cause for concern.  Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri Branch, Imo State, Lawrence Nwakaeti, who made the observation, said the prisons were in a deplorable state. It is a reason to call for reforms. Nwakaeti focused on “Judicial reforms and sustainable development in a democracy,” in an address at an event to mark the 2017/2018 legal year in the state.

    Corroborating the depiction of the lamentable condition of the country’s prisons, a 2017 study by a not-for-profit organisation, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria), showed that 50, 427 or 67 per cent of the 74,508 prisoners in Nigeria, are awaiting trial. This figure makes Nigeria “the fifth country with the highest awaiting trial population in Africa, trailing Libya, DRC, Central African Republic and Benin Republic,” according to CURE-Nigeria Executive Director, Sylvester Uhaa. Concerning Owerri Prison, CURE-Nigeria statistics indicate: capacity: 548; inmates: 2,307; convicted: 193; awaiting trial: 2,114.

    It is noteworthy that the organisation found that excessive use of pre-trial detention and low investment in welfare spending are major causes of prison overpopulation. Uhaa observed that when defendants are admitted to bail by a court, but are unable to satisfy the bail conditions, they are remanded in prison custody, thus swelling the population of those awaiting trial. The solution, according to him, is for the federal and state governments to “ensure the release of people who are illegally and innocently held in prison and detention centres throughout the country, and to take steps to ensure that prisons are used only as a last resort.”

    Challenges faced by prosecution agencies and the judiciary are also to blame for prison congestion and a situation where some of the inmates end up spending  more time in prison custody than they would have spent if convicted.  A top prison official was quoted as saying: “The congestion has sadly overstretched the facilities and personnel, thus leading some inmates to leave the prison more hardened than they were before incarceration.”

    Obviously, the country’s legal system is in need of reforms to address issues, including overburdened courts and prolonged trials.  The prison system also needs reforms to ensure that there are adequate prisons and adequate prison personnel.  In July, the Comptroller-General (CG) of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed, announced that “a 3,000 capacity ultra-modern prison with all the requirements for successful reformation of inmates will soon come on stream.” He also said “modern cells are being constructed in different locations to replace old and dilapidated cells in order to improve living conditions of inmates.”

    However, the country must avoid a situation where “the new prisons will soon be filled up with awaiting trial inmates and then we will need to build bigger ones, and then bigger ones,” Uhaa argued. Interestingly, he noted: “Research indicates that there is a direct relationship between welfare spending and imprisonment. Countries that spend more of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on welfare have lower prison rates than those who spend less of their GDP on welfare.

    For example, Denmark, Sweden and Finland spend the highest proportion of their GDP on welfare and have the lowest imprisonment rate in the world. This is why we have continued to advocate more investment in education, health and other social and economic welfare programmes, as these will help reduce crime and other social vices in Nigeria.”

    In the final analysis, tackling prison overpopulation requires a multipronged approach to reform the legal system, improve the prison system and advance socio-economic conditions.

  • Prison inmate undergoing PhD programme – Controller

    Prison inmate undergoing PhD programme – Controller

    The Controller of Prisons, Lagos State Command, Tunde Ladipo, says education in prison facilities is getting better by the day, with an inmate in the Maximum Prison undergoing a PhD programme.

    Ladipo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that things were looking up, especially with the commitment of officials and performance of inmates.

    The controller spoke to NAN on the sideline of the 2017 Ikoyi Prisons Education Award held in Lagos on Thursday.

    He said that aside the inmate taking a PhD programme at the maximum prison, which is in Kirikiri, several others, both at the facility and the Ikoyi Prisons, were also undergoing Master’s degree programmes in various fields.

    The controller said that despite being in incarceration, many prisoners had shown zeal to acquire education, even at the highest level.

    Ladipo said the state of education facilities in prisons across the country was receiving a boost following the directive of the Controller-General of the Nigerian Prisons, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed, that all their schools must be functional.

    “He is very much interested in the reformation of the inmates, especially as it concerns their welfare and has instructed that the education of inmates must be taken seriously.

    “ He has directed that all the schools within the walls of the prisons must be equipped and functional.

    “The controller-general also directed that we ensure too that our inmates are reformed spiritually and ensure that their welfare is always on the front burner.

    “He has gone a step ahead by providing drugs that will serve for not less than two years for inmates in prisons nationwide.

    “This is coupled with the acquisition and distribution of operational vehicles, such as the Green Maria, ambulances, escort and sewage vehicles as all as official cars,’’ Ladipo said.

    He said that in a bid to achieve accelerated growth and national transformation, every Nigerian must be given equal education opportunity, irrespective of where they may find themselves.

    Ladipo said that the prison, as a reformation centre, must not be an exclusion, as those in there, are equally entitled to their rights to be educated.

    “That is why we are putting every resource available at our disposal in ensuring that we make life conducive for the inmates by also bringing all levels of education to them within the facility.

    “The essence of bringing these persons to the prisons is to change their lives and empower them for the better in the future,’’ he said.

    Ladipo recalled that in 2015, the Maximum Security Prison School had produced a Master’s degree holder while still serving a jail term.

    He, however, said the feat was not single-handedly achieved, but with the collaboration of some religious and non-governmental organisations.

    “We appreciate their contributions, and like Oliver Twist, we are asking for more interventions from members of the public,’’ Ladipo said.

    The prison boss assured that management would speak with the authorities on the need to provide a standard CBT centre for the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination by JAMB for the inmates.

    He also appealed for more volunteer teachers to assist in the teaching of various subjects in the schools, especially as more inmates were yearning for education by the day.

  • Alleged diversion of N16.6b: Court sends Suswam’s ex-aide, two others to prison

    Alleged diversion of N16.6b: Court sends Suswam’s ex-aide, two others to prison

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that an ex-aide to former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam and two other state officials be remanded in Suleja prison in Niger State for their alleged complicity in the fraudulent diversion of N16.6 billion.

    The three are Solomon Wombo, Asen Sambe and Isiah Ipevnor.

    Wombo was Special Adviser to Suswam on Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, who doubled as the chairman, Joint Allocation Account for Local Government Committee.

    Sambe was Permanent Secretary of the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and also served as the Secretary to the Joint Account Allocation for Local Government Committee.

    Ipevnor was director of Accounts and Finance in the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and secretary.

    Justice Nnamdi Dimgba ordered that the three be remanded in prison while granting them bail.

    Justice Dimgba, who rejected the defence’s request that the defendants be remanded in police’s custody, ordered them to remain in prison until they are able to perfect the bail granted them.

    Wombo, Sambe and Ipevnor were arraigned on a nine-count charge filed by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

    They were accused, among others, of fraudulent diversion of N16.6 billion from Benue State’s bank accounts dedicated for the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and the Joint Allocation Account for Local Government funds.

    After their arraignment, lead prosecution lawyer Aminu Akilu urged the court to remand the defendants in prison pending when their bail applications would be heard.

    The judge, however, noted that the offences for which the defendants were arraigned were bailable.

    He advised parties to agree on conditions to be attached to the bail to be granted to the defendants.

    The judge later stood the case down to enable parties confer and agree on the bail conditions.

    The parties, with Akilu (for prosecution) and Innocent Daa’gba later met briefly outside the courtroom, during which they agreed on some conditions, which the judge consequently accepted, but with some modifications.

    Justice Dimgba granted bail to the defendants at N100million each with two sureties, one of who must be a civil servant, who must not be lower than an Assistant Director in any state or federal ministries or other government establishments.

    The other surety, the judge said, could be a private businessman or woman, who must own a property in the municipal area of Abuja, worth N100 million.

    He said civil servant, who accept to serve as surety, must also present his/her letter of appointment, last promotion letter and staff identity card or driver’s licence.

    The judge ordered the defendants to deposit their passports and other travel documents and must not travel outside the country without the court’s permission.

    The prosecution accused the defendants of fraudulently diverting N16,604,314,604.01 belonging to the 23 local government areas in Benue State.

    It said of the N16.6 billion, the defendants, between June 15, 2012 and May 29, 2015, allegedly diverted N7,032,333,506.28  from the state’s “SURE-P Local Government component” bank account into the account of  Benue State Local Government Joint Account,  with the aim of concealing the money and for their own personal benefits.

    Before the defendants were arraigned, Akilu told the court that although the alleged offences were committed in Benue State, the prosecution chose to file the charge in Abuja because of the insecurity in the state before now.

    Although the defence lawyer agreed that the trial could be conducted in Abuja, Justice Dimgba noted that it was possible that the case could be heard speedily in Makurdi, where there were few of such high profile cases.

    The judge asked parties to reflect on his observation and adjourned to December 18.