I am Favour Pada, a 400 level clinician who participated in the 2018
NULAI/OSIWA pretrial detention project. I can be an over optimistic fellow at
times with hopes and aspirations of a better society. The problem with this optimism sometimes,
lies in the inability to look at issues plaguing the society exactly as they
exist.
A visit to the Suleja prison on the 18th of April 2018 changed my
perception to a fault. Of course I know the system is bad but looking at it
myself made me realize that it was at that point I really became aware there
were problems with the justice system in Nigeria.
The prison view from the outside resembles that of a forgotten secondary
school abandoned as a result of a civil war. The inside is not any better. The
canopies we sat under and the chairs we sat on were all donations from
religious bodies. By the left, you could
see and smell the terrible smoke emitting from the local fire stand with few
prisoners preparing to cook a meal. Not far from there, were detainees who were
supposed to be interviewed. They were all seated on the bare floor, all looking
disorganized and with quite a number of them barefooted. I did close my eyes
for some few seconds to help me grasp the situation for a moment. I must tell
you that I left there unable to, it was quite overwhelming for me.
I know perfectly well that no society can exist without deviants. I also
understand and recognize the need to sanction them. I only have difficulty with
the methods being used or in this case, the methods not being used.
Several laws in Nigeria make provisions for rights of detainees and
nearly all of them are not being adhered to. The law, particularly the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 makes provisions for arrest and how
it should be carried out, yet ordinary Nigerians are arrested without
compliance with the due processes. It seems to me that we are more concerned
with the sanction itself than the methods of enforcement of these sanctions. We
say to ourselves, it does not matter how that prisoner is treated, he deserved
it. It does not matter how long he is remanded without trial, he should have
been wary of his friends. I think it is something we tell ourselves to prevent
us from feeling guilty for abusing another person's rights. I was convinced in
the past that compliance with the rule was not so important if they appeared
guilty,It is punishment after all. Now, I see clearly that it is not just about
the punishment. It is also about the way the punishment is being meted out.
I am a fourth year law student
and to be honest, I do not trust the police.
Not that I want them abolished or anything, I just cannot reconcile how
I am supposed to trust a system that has the highest records of human rights
violations. Countless Nigerians are arrested without reasonable cause, others
are even arrested in place of other suspects.
Section 7(a) of the Constitution provides for the arrest and detention
of a person on the basis of a reasonable suspicion.What is this test of reasonability that the police ought to use when making
arrests? The online law dictionary defines reasonability test as "a
measurement that is used to determine how valid an action or process is".
While the Black's law dictionary, ninth edition defines reasonable suspicion as
“a particularized and objective basis, supported by specific and articulable
facts for suspecting a person of criminal activity” From the above definitions,
arresting a person in place of a suspect or arbitrarily is not a valid arrest.
If the police cannot find the suspect they are looking for, the most
sensible thing to do is to continue with investigations and not to initiate the
justice process against another. If for any “reasonable" reason they
believe that the person will lead them to the suspect, then when he is arrested,
he should not be remanded beyond 14 days at first instance. It is renewable for
another fourteen days where there is a good cause as provided for in section
296 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
One important thing this project helped me understand better is the
presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Section 36(5) of the constitution
provides for this. This is a right, an entitlement that should not be taken
away from a pretrial detainee no matter how grievous the charges are before him.
It should be noted in the way he is arrested, in the way he is treated when
detained and in the way he is given access to a speedy trial. A presumption
like this provides reasonable grounds to believe that this suspect is innocent
until proven otherwise. It should thus reflect in how he is treated.
As a team, all the inmates we interviewed were arrested as sentenced
criminals without the presumption of innocence on their side. Some of them were
arrested in lieu, others had their statements written on their behalf, and
others were subjected to torture and inhumane treatment, while others have
families that were not informed of their arrests. This right like several other
rights have been taken away from them.
When I left the prison that day, I was more than convinced that amongst
vulnerable groups of persons in the society (women, children, disables, the
elderly and so on). If there was a bar, pretrial detainees will fall under the
most vulnerable group. It is easy for everyone to sympathize and relate to the plight of women,
I mean the world consist of a larger number of women. And don't get me started
on children. Who is that monster that would be against their rights? Or the
disabled, or the elderly? However, the mere mention of prisoners often connotes
guilt or contributory negligence. This is why we can all complain about the
state of Internally Displaced Persons camps and still be very reluctant when it
comes to the state of prisons. We can all be feminists to an extent but not
care enough for prisoners.
In fact, most times, the passion for helping detainees only rests on the
fact that someone may be innocent. That passion and sympathy does not extend to
the guilty especially those on death rows.
Black's law dictionary, ninth edition defined justice as "the fair
and proper administration of laws".
What is on trial is not their guilt or innocence, at least not for us as
student participants but how the laws are applied. I will have more faith in
justice if the laws are applied accordingly.
Whether he is guilty or not, let him face trial. It is unjust to detain
a person when he has not been sentenced. What is also unjust is the inhumane
treatment of detainees. It is as though the system is not just trying their
innocence or guilt but also their humanity. During the prison visit, we
encountered inmates with bruises unattended to from being tortured by the
police.
Sections 34(1), 8(1) of the constitution and the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act respectively prohibits torture, inhumane or degrading
treatment. So also several treaties such as the Convention Against Torture,
African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. These provisions and several others do not deter officers from
inflicting pain on detainees. There is also the psychological trauma and
torture that arises from overcrowding, lack of access to health care and poor
nutrition. A summary of inmate
population by the Convict and Awaiting Trial Persons as at 11th June 2018
revealed that pretrial detainee make up 68 percent of the prison population
This means the number of pretrial detainees in prisons exceed the number
of inmates who have been sentenced. This
contributes greatly to prison congestion which in turn leaves detainees prone
to diseases, and with the poor health care and nutrition, their lives are at
risk.
It is a death sentence already for them.
However, from all of these appalling issues, I was able to acquire
valuable skills such as client counselling and interviewing skills.
It gave me the opportunity of practice outside the classroom. It also increased my interest in public interest lawyering.
Most importantly, it exposed me to the beauty of team work. Unlikely friendships have been formed and I know that together, we can create the change we so crave.
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