Date: March 09, 2021, 12:22:59 AM
SERVING TERMS WITHOUT TRIAL: Crime : Nigerialog.com - Nigeria's Premier Online Forum
The recent disclosure that almost 90 per cent of inmates in Nigerian prisons are on the Awaiting Trial (AT) list should be of serious concern to stakeholders in our criminal justice system. Statistics released by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) revealed a breakdown of the percentage of awaiting trial inmates to that of total number of inmates in eight prisons as follows: Ikoyi, 88 per cent; Katsina, 93 per cent; Kano Central, 59 per cent; Umuahia, 96 per cent; Owerri, 93 per cent; Port Harcourt, 89 per cent and Enugu, 85 per cent. This development, according to CCC Executive Secretary, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (rtd), was indicative of a systemic failure in our criminal justice administration.