Many years ago, when
I was in secondary school, I saw a man being tortured and physically abused by
a law enforcement agent. When I inquired, I was told that he was a suspected
Armed Robber. Since I was not conversant with the law, I was afraid and walked
away.
When I got home, I
narrated the story to my Dad who told me that, " not all suspected
criminals actually committed the crime". It was a confusing statement
because the society had given me a perspective that " all suspects are criminals " which
was totally different from my Papa’s view.
Years later,
precisely 7th July, 2018, I was opportune to be at the Lafia prison to
interview awaiting trial detainees. I was scared at first because of the
confusing perspective I already had from childhood, but it turned out to be an
interesting adventure.
I was paired with a
senior colleague who had a better skill at Client interviewing &
counselling . While he interviewed, I took down the notes. Of all the prisoners
I interviewed, our first client happened to be the one I enjoyed most because
he was really jovial. This singular act portrayed by this man changed my
perspective of prisoners being mean, cruel and rude.
Another thing that
struck me was that the principle of " Audi alterem partem"( hear both
sides) is not upheld in our judicial system. Most of the prisoners complained
that they had never been to a court or even being allowed to air their views.
In addition, they revealed that even the law enforcement
agents are the sole perpetrators of not respecting habeas corpus. They get an
innocent individual and after torturing the person, they maintained, that they
forcefully make the person accept that he/she is guilty of the said crime.
Furthermore, I
learnt that no one was above the prison. A little mistake can land you in there
and except by Gods grace, you would end up being treated inhumanely.
I also learnt that
being in prison does not stop you from developing in every aspect of your life.
It helps to rehabilitate detainees’ hence I heard of prisoners who attend National Open
University of Nigeria, some learn handwork and others have finished secondary
school education. This is done, so that when they are released into the
society, they can make their contribution. For example, former president Nelson
Mandela of South Africa gained his education in prison, and our own former
president Olusegun Obasanjo also excelled as a farmer in prison.
I can proudly say
that my confusion about criminals and the prison has come to an end as a result
of this project and my passion for activism rekindled.
Comments
Post a Comment