Chinwe Aguma Memorial Lecture: Notes on Prison Decongestion

The Advocate

By Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

It was the 5th year anniversary of the death of late Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice of Rivers State, Sir Emmanuel Chinwenwo Aguma, SAN, KSC, who passed on to eternal glory on August 10, 2018. May his soul continue to rest peacefully in the bosom of the Lord. Amen. We attended the 6th Annual Memorial Lecture/Public Discussion themed “The Decongestion of the Correctional Centres: The Role of the Various Stakeholders”, which held at the NBA House, Port Harcourt last Thursday. As usual, the carefully chosen topic of discussion was apt, because the problem of prison congestion in Nigeria continues to escalate, and since Abubakar Malami, SAN, the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) was obviously totally unconcerned about it, it is our hope that the incoming AGF, in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders, the Police, Judiciary and State Governors, amongst other actors, will give this issue the necessary urgent attention that it demands.   Our culture of keeping Correctional Centre Inmates in inhumane conditions, as if they have no fundamental rights, must not be allowed to continue. In 2017, I wrote a piece called, “Imprisonment in Nigeria: A Fate Worse than Death”, in which I likened the conditions in Nigerian Prisons to that of Antanimora Prison, Madagascar, one of the worst prisons in the world.

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Simeon Amadi delivered the Lecture, while the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Her Lordship, Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili, JSC (Rtd), also gave a brief address, before the Panel, which comprised of the Rivers AG, Professor Zacchaeus Adangor, SAN, former AIG Hilda Ibifuro Harrison, the NBA Rivers State Chairman, Viktor Benibo, with Mr Tonye Krukrubo, SAN as Moderator, sunk their teeth into the topic for discussion. 

Professor Adangor, SAN: Causes of Prison Congestion and Solutions for Decongestion

Prof Adangor opened up the discussion, by giving us the statistics of those who are incarcerated in various Correctional Centres across Nigeria as of August 8, 2023 – a total of 68,747 when our Prisons have a total maximum capacity of 57,278, that is, 16.68% overcrowding. A total of 50,992 inmates are awaiting trial, while only 17,775 of them are convicts.  

Prof identified some of the major causes of prison congestion, as follows: 1) Increase in crime rate; 2) Delay in administration of criminal justice; 3) Poor Investigation by Police; 4) Police penchant for detention and charging every suspect to court; 5) Delay in DPP rendering advice; 6) Stringent bail conditions that Defendants cannot perfect; 7) Poverty – inability to pay fines imposed by the courts upon conviction; 8) Lack of resources to build new prisons; 9) Reluctance of Governors to sign death warrants for Defendants who have been sentenced to death, and have exhausted their appeals. 

In expatiating on the Police’s poor investigative skills and their penchant for charging suspects to court, Prof had the room in fits of laughter, when he gave the example of a suspect arrested for armed robbery in Port Harcourt, who immediately provides a defence of alibi, claiming that he was in Aba at the time the crime was committed. Instead of investigating that defence of alibi, the Police will go ahead to arrest the suspect and charge him to the Magistrate Court for armed robbery (which doesn’t have the jurisdiction to hear the matter), in order to obtain a remand order! Prof also said there was a backlog of up to 20 years, waiting for the DPP’s Advice on whether to prosecute. He set up a Committee, and in six months, the backlog was disposed of. During the Discussion, we even discovered that there is NYSC in prison! That even though most offences are State Offences, people are posted from other States to out-of-State prisons. 

Some of the solutions Professor Adangor proffered, were for States to build more Correctional Facilities, since by virtue of the 2023 amendment to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution), Correctional Centres are now on the Concurrent Legislative List; for the Police to improve their investigative skills and processes; courts must be in full control of remand proceedings; the use of plea bargain, suspended sentences, community service and non-custodial sentences, though he did admit that the power to hand down non-custodial sentences was not at large, as offences involving the use of firearms or offensive weapons, sexual offences and those which attract imprisonment which exceeds three years, are excluded from this kind of arrangement – see Section 470(4) of the Rivers State Administration of Justice Law No. 7 of 2015 (ACJL). Interestingly, Prof called on the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, to help pay the fines of Convicts in their States who were unable to, and their inability to pay fines, responsible for keeping them incarcerated, and thereby congesting the Correctional Centres even more. See the case of Yakubu v FRN (2022) LPELR-57749(SC) per Tijjani Abubakar, JSC on the four factors for consideration when a court is performing its sentencing function, as set out by Section 311(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA) including the appropriateness of non-custodial sentence treatment in lieu of imprisonment. 

AIG Hilda Ibifuro Harrison (Rtd)

On her part, AIG Harrison, from the Police viewpoint, identified four reasons for prison congestion: 1) Delay in Police Investigation – delay in murder cases, due to a delay in the performance of autopsy which is required for investigation. She said that Government hospitals didn’t provide the funds for the chemicals required to perform autopsies; 2) Need for a parallel communication network between agencies; 3) Prevalence of Holding Charges; 4) Irregular visits of Magistrates to the Correctional Centres. 

Chairman, NBA, Port Harcourt, Viktor Benibo 

The third Panelist, Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt, emphasised on Section 480 of the ACJL, and the function of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Council inter alia, to reduce prison congestion to a bare minimum. Section 480(f) of the ACJL provides for Parole, while 480(g) enjoins the Council to ensure that persons awaiting trial are not detained in prison custody. Ironically, Prof Adangor mentioned that though Port Harcourt Correctional Centre has the capacity to hold 1800 inmates, it had a population of 3042, of which 2781 were awaiting trial and 473 were convicts. 

The Chairman of the Occasion, Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka, MON, identified yet another cause for prison congestion – that when Investigating Police Officers are transferred to other jurisdictions in the course of a case, funds for bringing them back to testify are not readily available, sometimes the Complainants have to bear the cost, if not the case doesn’t progress. A past Attorney-General of Rivers State, Dame Aleruchi Cookey-Gam also commented that the conditions in our Correctional Centres make them a breeding ground for more crime, and they end up correcting nothing. She also noted that the lack of proper integration and acceptance of ex-convicts back into society, caused them to roam around, end up committing more crimes which land them back in prison (Recidivism, also mentioned by Chief Amiesimaka). 

The last contributor to the Discussion, Honourable Justice Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike, talked about the importance of the Three Rs, Reorientation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration, especially for young offenders. See the case of Yakubu v FRN (Supra) on the objectives of sentencing, including the principles of reformation and deterrence.

Emmanuel Chinwenwo Aguma Educational Foundation

Mr Chima Aguma, introduced the Emmanuel Chinwenwo Aguma Educational Foundation, established because his father, Chinwe Aguma was so passionate about law and the legal profession, to honour his memory. Immediately, a cheque of N7.5 million was presented to the Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Professor Okogbule, for the benefit of 25 Law Students at who were awarded scholarships to fund their education. 

Conclusion 

From my side, there are other measures that must be taken to decongest the prisons. For one, I believe that the oversight of the prison is a legal affair, and should be removed from the purview of the Ministry of Interior to that of the Justice Ministry. The duties of the Correctional Service, is quite different from that of the other agencies supervised by the Interior Ministry, like Fire and Immigration Services. The treatment of all of these different agencies by one administrative body in the same way, will constantly militate against the efficiency and effectiveness of our Correctional Centres, because their needs are not the same. 

In fact, establishing a Correctional Service Commission to administer the prisons and conditions of service of Correctional Service Officers, in replacement of the Immigration, Prison Service and Civil Defence Board, would be better. Section 34 of ACJA requires the Chief Judges of the various High Courts (Federal and State) and Chief Magistrates, to inspect all Police Stations and Detention Facilities in their territories on a monthly basis, a duty that is reiterated by Section 70 of the Police Act 2020, with powers for them to release detainees, grant them bail or direct their arraignment in court. Surely, if these provisions are strictly enforced, those who have no business being detained would be released, thereby aiding the decongestion of the Correctional Centres. As Hon. Justice Elsie Thompson, who sat next to me noted, Prison Congestion should not be a blame game between the various agencies, but the decongestion, a collaborative effort by the various stakeholders. I concur. 

P.S. Still on Coup d’Etat

I must note that, the “ill-wind” of coup d’états blowing through West Africa should be food for thought for the various leaders. I remember some years ago, when Madam Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright visited Nigeria, in her address, she stated that it is not enough to have a democratic system of governance, that also of great importance, is that there must be dividends of democracy for the people. The truth is that, if there are no dividends, then the people will be dissatisfied, and may be happy to take a chance and seek greener pastures elsewhere, by supporting  military takeovers.

Of what benefit is democracy, if the living conditions of the people worsen under it? Of what benefit is it, that the people are indeed, free to abuse Government to their hearts’ content for their failings because they enjoy freedom of expression (see Section 39(1) of the Constitution), but Government does nothing to respond to their criticisms and abuse by correcting the anomalies and delivering good governance? None. What then, is in it for the people? For example, a system where Politicians who are already paid over-bloated salaries and allowances, and are then given ‘secret’ holiday allowance, at the same time that the average Nigerian on the street is grappling with intense hunger and suffering, is not Democracy, because even if it is a government by the people, with such an insensitive action by the Legislature, it is definitely not a government for the people! It is Government of the Politicians, by the Politicians, for the Politicians.