The Public and Private Development Centre, a non-governmental organisation, has hosted over 20 civil society organisations in Yola, the state capital to discuss the way forward on the huge number of inmates awaiting trials in correctional centres.
Speaking at the meeting with the CSOs yesterday in Yola, the programme assistant of the centre Hauwa Yusuf, said that the reforming of the pretrial detention in Nigeria phase ll project is supported by the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
In a statement signed by the Head of Communication and Knowledge Management, Munachi Okoro disclosed that over 53,000 inmates are awaiting trials across the 253 Correctional Centres.
“The growing number of pretrial detainees, many held for years without trial under dire conditions, poses significant human rights concerns, overwhelming the justice system and correctional facilities,” Okoro stated.
The statement added that the meeting will focus on communication strategies, resource management, and collaboration problem solving techniques for pro bono legal services.
While speaking on the overall objectives of the PPDC project, the Adamawa State Programme Officer Barr. Fatima Bello said that the project aimed at deploying over 370 law clinicians and 50 pro bono lawyers to provide legal representation to 1,750 detainees annually.
According to Bello, this will reduce the pretrial population, and it will strengthen Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
Continuing, she added, “The project aims to support collective efforts towards achieving a reduction in awaiting trial inmates for which more than 70 per cent of those in correctional facilities across Nigeria are awaiting trial.”
Bello further pointed out that the court administration and case management project is aimed at improving capacity to reduce the challenges in the justice sector.
“The CACM project focuses on addressing the gaps in structures for case management in the courts which are weak or absent in some cases, and for which there are no document backup systems in place,” he stated.
