KWAJAFA HAMIDAH SOYEYA FROM UNILORIN CLINIC: REFLECTION

LEARNING AND REFLECTIONS ON UNILORIN’S PRISON PRE-TRIAL DETAINEE PROJECT SPONSORED BY OSIWA AND NULAI

BY KWAJAFA HAMIDAH SOYEYA

Pondering about what to describe my learning and experiences with, in this Prison Pre-trial detainee Project, all I can think of is my first time of a roller coaster.

You see, a roller coaster is a bunch of experiences. Looking at the setting from the ground, with a lot of twists, turns and sharp-turn edges, you can only have an idea of how its going to look or feel like.

The first part of merely looking at the roller coaster ride could explain very well the first two workshops wherein our work plan and general outline for the one year ride was revealed. The workshop gave us a theoretical idea of how the experience was going to be. It gave us sight of the possible twists and turns. We had simulated client interviewing sessions, made plans to conduct advocacy visits and so on. Essentially, we had drawn for ourselves a map for the ride.

The next phase in a roller coaster ride involves paying and getting in the ride, down to the first five or ten seconds of the ride. This was for me the phase our advocacy visits. The advocacy visit’s essence was to pave way for easy access to the criminal justice system by meeting with its stake-holders who are the gate keepers to the ride. Having given us access, we began to learn from this rather experienced stake-holders, the possible encounters we may have- the good, the bad and the ugly. This was like the first 10 seconds of my roller coaster ride- sweet and slow and steady but takes you to the top and shows you the seemingly innocent ride [when viewed from the ground] truly is. You can only know that it looks scary but you haven’t really felt it yet. Till it suddenly drops.

If you haven’t been on a roller coaster before, you probably wouldn’t understand the feeling when it drops. Its like the beginning of reality. Its like being thrown out of a storey building and even though you know you’ll be caught at the dropping point, it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like “why did I do this, my life is ending”.

This stage for me began at the prison visit down to going to court and the running around. Things became more real at this point and the ride began.

We have been to prison about four times and every single time, unique-african magic-like cases come up. We then need to brainstorm to think of the best possible way to handle a client’s case. Some cases were not so complicated like the straight routes on my rollercoaster. Some on the other hand were like the rounded routes that felt like tangled shoe laces.

At this point, the realization that a person’s life and liberty rests on my shoulders and on my diligence and hard work became more real to me. This point thought me how to interact with clients and get the requisite information from them. I also learnt how to draft processes like bail applications, DPP’s advice, affidavits and so on. I also learnt time management and how to balance my academic work with my quest for justice.

Team work for me was a crucial part of my learning. You see, on a roller coaster, when the ride gets too rough or complicated, we begin to hold hands to make things less scary. It also says “we are in this together no matter what”. For me, team work and being part of a team is the most comforting part of this scary ride. The weight is evenly distributed on everyone’s shoulders.

I am still in the twists and turns of my roller coaster ride. I’m seeing how messed up our administration of criminal justice system is. From poor records to prisons holding more than their capacity to incessant adjournments that prolong trials, to deteriorated prison conditions and many more.

All these experiences and much more have so far shaped my perspective of things. I have moved from being a complacent Nigerian, thinking only about how people who do wrong should be sent to prison, to actually considering how the society could have made these criminals and how prison conditions can make them worse than they were rather than reform them. Our prisons are not reformative at all. I look at prisoners and detainees[who should be in separate detention facilities instead of prisons] with a more humane perspective now and I feel nothing but the need to attain justice especially for those whose detention are wrongful either in fact or as a result of a system that does not work properly.

So far, the Unilorin Law Clinic has been working efficiently. We quickly learn from mistakes and experiences. All we need is consistency to achieve our goal. The only trying problem I encountered was lack of interpreters for some detainees who only understood Hausa language. This was quickly resolved as we now have those who understand the language come with us when the need arises.

In summary, I’m having an intriguing ride on this project.