Gentlemen, there is no gainsaying the fact that the abuse of human rights has over the years been a topical issue in Nigeria and as such it deserves urgent, serious, strategic, collective and collaborative response. This talk will flip through the various forms of abuse of human rights in Nigerian prisons, the expectations from the Correctional Officers, how the officers effect correction and commend probable working synergies among the stakeholders of the Nigerian criminal justice system. It is apposite to underscore at this juncture, that the Nigerian Correctional Service as a law enforcement agent is not per se a distinct body but an organ of service within the Administration of Criminal Justice system in Nigeria. The principal organs of Nigerian Criminal Justice System include the Nigerian Police Force, the Courts and the Nigerian Correctional Service. Other role players, which complement the core agencies of Criminal Justice administration in Nigeria, are the various prosecutorial agencies such as Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), the Economic and Financial Crimes Control Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), etc.
Do inmates have rights?
To assume that once an individual is arrested and is sent to correctional institution such a person thereby loses all his rights under the law is not only retrograde but lacks any iota of legal backing. A citizen who is incarcerated in prison or jail upon the order of a validly constituted court, definitely, has his fundamental human rights as enjoyed by a free citizen curtailed- for example his freedom of movement is curtailed. But he is entitled to such right as to life except in execution of a valid court judgment and in absence of a pending appeal. He is entitled to his right to dignity of the human person His right to privacy as a prisoner is likely to be validly distorted as he has no reasonable expectation of absolute privacy in the cell where he is kept. He can own property under section 44 except there is a decision, court order or law that leads to forfeiture of such property.
The Global concept and governmental policies on imprisonment is tending towards attaining retributive justice to how it can serve a reformative purpose and probably prepare the inmates to live as a better citizen should he be reabsorbed back into the society. This is the premises upon which the fresh philosophy is based and that is, they should be accorded the dignity of a human being and not trained to be bitter towards the society. According to Nelson Mandela “It is said that no one knows a nation until one has been inside the jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its higher citizens, but its lower ones”. Similarly, the Nelson Mandela Rules, 2015 aptly captures these rights as follows: All prisoners shall be treated with respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings. No prisoner shall be subjected to, and all prisoners shall be protected from, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, for which no justification may be invoked as justification. The safety and security of prisoners…shall be ensured at all times.
Also, under the Nigerian laws a prisoner still enjoys some human rights. Nigeria has a robust legal framework for the protection of the rights of inmates. In Nemi v Attorney General of Lagos State it was held that the inmates still have their rights intact except those deprived by the law and that even for a prisoner who is awaiting execution his rights are still intact until executed. Apart from the Constitution which is the grundnorm, the recently enacted Correctional Service Act also enshrines a number of inmates’ rights. These rights include inter alia:
i. Right not to be tortured or subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment
ii. Right to be protected from any form of sexual or non-sexual bullying
iii. Right not to be held in slavery or servitude
iv. Right not to be subjected to labour except where the sentence otherwise provides
v. Right not to be kept together with sick inmates
vi. Right to be produced before the court while still awaiting trial
vii. Right to adequate healthcare
viii. Right to the provision of basic needs such as accommodation, feeding, potable water, hygiene, sewage disposal, clothing and toiletries.
Apart from the above rights envisaged under the Act, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights clearly provides that all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. The United Nations have also released a number of principles that must be applied in the treatment of prisoners. These rights include but are not limited to the following:
i. All prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings.
ii. There shall not be any discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
iii. It is however desirable to respect the religious beliefs and cultural precepts of the group to which prisoners belong.
iv. All prisoners shall have the right to take part in cultural activities and education aimed at the development of the human personality.
EXCERPT FROM THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY ADEKUNLE OJO AKANBI ESQ, FORMER 2ND NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, MBA AT THE 4TH ANNUAL LANDMARK AFRICA LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT HELD 12TH DECEMBER 2019 ABUJA