AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL KNOCKS NIGERIA'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The Amnesty International has condemned Nigeria's criminal justice system saying it is laced with injustice from the beginning to the end. The organization, short of describing the Nigeria's Government as lawless, said the Police have helped in promoting poor criminal justice system by its method of operations.

The organization, in its latest report which described the Nigeria's criminal justice system as a failure, exposes the country's appalling prison system, which it describes as "filled with people whose human rights are being systematically violated."

Only recently, one Arthur Judah Angel, a former Enugu Prison death row inmate gave a graphic gory  details of the condition of Nigeria Prisons.

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In a 50-page report, Amnesty revealed how at least 65 per cent of Nigerian prisons' inmates had never been convicted of any crime. The report said some inmates had been awaiting trial for up to 10 years.

According to the report, "Torture by the police is also routine and widespread, with confessions extracted by torture often used as evidence in trials."

It notes that "the problems in Nigerian criminal justice system, especially its prisons -are blatant and egregious that the Nigerian government has had no choice but to recognize them – and has pledged many times that it will reform the system."

The report describes prisoners awaiting trial as "too poor to afford a lawyer, with only one in seven awaiting trial having access to private legal representation."

According to it, only 91 legal aid lawyers work in the country. Besides, it says appalling prison conditions such as overcrowding are seriously damaging the mental and physical health of thousands.

The report notes that "the reality is that those in prison stand little chance of their rights being respected. Those without money stand even less chance. Some could end up spending the rest of their lives behind bars in appalling conditions."

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According to it, "The Nigerian government is simply not complying with its national and international obligations when it comes to the criminal justice system and must begin to do so seriously and urgently."

The report also highlights the conditions of prison staff, who work long and stressful hours for low wages that are often paid late, saying, "poor pay often leads to petty extortion of prisoners, staff shortages create security risks for both staff and inmates."

It notes that inmates are often relied upon to govern themselves and have taken on disciplinary functions, including meting out corporal punishment, close confinement and diet restriction, all of which do not comply with international standards.

It notes several promises of government to reform the criminal justice system are not fulfilled.

Instead, "the government has set up new committees and commissions to study, review and harmonise the previous recommendations."