• Introduction and Background:

Overcrowding is a common feature in many of the prisons across the country, with many holding in excess of 300 percent of their approved capacity. The primary cause of the prison overcrowding is traceable to the very high proportion of awaiting trial/un-convicted prisoners which makes up to 70 percent of the overall prison population. The root causes of this include weak capacity within the criminal justice institutions and poor coordination and communication across and between criminal justice actors, over use of imprisonment/inadequate utilization of non-custodial sentences, etc. The complexity of the Nigerian criminal justice with the NPS being centrally controlled at the federal level working alongside state directed justice institutions further complicates the overall coherence of the sector. Also, lack of legal representation for many of these ATPs is a significant factor that delays the progression of their cases. There are a few initiatives, both from state and non-state actors that seek to address this issue, but they are not adequate to meet the demand and do not operate in a coordinated manner. An overwhelming majority of remand prisoners are indigent persons who cannot afford the services of a lawyer, and thus have no legal representation. In addition, criminal trials progress very slowly. It is not uncommon to see criminal cases that have been in court for 5 years without any prospect of conclusion.

Efficient management of criminal proceedings is of significant concern to stakeholders. Factors necessitating this includes the following: Delays in assignment of cases and consideration of applications for leave to prefer a charge; Frequent adjournments of cases due the non-appearance of prosecutors, defence lawyers, accused persons and witnesses; Late arrivals of judges and irregular court sittings; Inefficient case management systems, worsened by heavy caseloads and logistics constraints; Defence lawyers delay progress of cases, especially when there is a high probability of conviction. Furthermore, the non-appearance of remand prisoners/accused persons in court on/at the scheduled date and time is a significant cause of delay in criminal justice proceedings. These are caused by factors such as: inadequate functional vehicles to convey remand prisoners to court when required; Lack of resources to maintain and run the vehicles (e.g. fueling, repair/replacement of parts); etc. The consequence is that remand prisoners do not get taken to court or on occasions prisoners or their families are asked to cover the cost; and poor coordination, communication and logistics planning internally and between agencies leading to misunderstandings of when prisoners need to go to which court. Opportunities to increase efficiency are missed and resources are sometimes wasted.

To promote effective and sustainable prisons reform in Nigeria, a holistic approach need to be adopted involving partnership and cooperation between the criminal justice institutions among themselves as well as with the members of the fourth estate of the realm for an increased awareness, implementation and replication of good prison practices in Nigeria.

• Project Purpose, Aim and Objectives:

The main goal of this project is: To improve the quality of criminal justice delivery in Nigeria

The project objectives are as follows:

1. Improve the knowledge on the nature and demographical characteristics of awaiting trial prisoners in targeted prisons in Nigeria.
2. Increase the number and quality of legal representation for awaiting trial prisoners in targeted prisons in Nigeria.
3. Promote administrative and judicial interventions aimed at reducing the duration in custody and number of pre – trial detainees in targeted prisons in Nigeria.
4. Promote good prison/correctional practices in Nigeria

Project Activities:

•  Strengthening statistics and data management
• Provision of legal and other support services
• Training and Capacity Building
• Promotion of advocacy, dissemination and replication of good practices
• Coordination of justice sector institutions

• Project Pilot States/Prisons:

Enugu Maximum Security Prison,

Kano Central Prison and

Lagos Ikoyi Prison

For more information on the project contact:

Email: olawal@prawa.org | prawa@prawa.org