Reminiscing the events that made up his 30 days in Uyo prison, human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, speaks with BABATUNDE TITILOLA on his experience in prison, observations of the Nigerian Correctional Service and general issues that are truncating a proper criminal justice system obtainable in some other countries
What was your experience like during incarceration?
I spent the first two weeks in Ikot Ekpene Custodial Centre which was designated as COVID-19 isolation centre. I was manhandled on the day they wanted to transfer me to Uyo Custodial Centre. They did not allow me to sit in the van despite the fact that it was drizzling. I was threatened and treated violently. My beards were there in Ikot Ekpene but they shaved them against my wish in Uyo. They even recorded me to humiliate me. Uduak Akpan, the guy alleged of killing job seeker Iniobong Umoren had beards. The custodial centres are terrible and disgustingly congested. Inmates live like abandoned animals. There is no good hygiene. Some sit with their legs tied while some do not have space to sit at all. I had to pay for a “special cell.” It was still not comfortable. Inmates pay for kerosene to use one lantern per cell. Inmates used their hands to remove sewage from the cesspool. They tied ropes to buckets and use it to dispose sewage. They cooked without ingredients. The garri they were serving was contaminated. Uyo prison is just beside the Governor’s House. Saying it is a terrible experience is an understatement.
The court is called the last hope of a common man for a reason. Has the justice system in Nigeria been able to sustain this reason or there’s a problem somewhere?
The justice system is designed to afford citizens the forum to ventilate their grievances, seek redress for wrongs done to them and protection from oppression. The justice system is wide and multifaceted. It accommodates different types of cases and situations. In Nigeria, the 1999 Constitution has created a bi-cameral justice system in the sense that the judicial powers of the Federation have been vested in the Federal and State Courts as enshrined in Section 6 of the Constitution. Another way of classifying it is that we have the criminal justice system and the civil justice system.
The court system is supposed to accord every person equality before the law as guaranteed under the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. Regrettably, access to justice and equality before the law remains largely unattainable due to many factors. Most Nigerians do not have access to justice in the practical sense. Equality before the law remains a theoretical exposition that is far from reality. Influential people in our country have emasculated the capacity of ordinary citizens to access justice.
What would you say is truncating the proper administration of criminal justice in this current judicial dispensation?
The administration of criminal justice under the current judicial dispensation is plagued by some issues that have not been sufficiently, frontally and honestly addressed. For the downtrodden and the voiceless people in this country, the criminal justice system is not functioning properly. We have a situation where law enforcement agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, have consistently undermined the rule of law. The refusal by the Federal Government to reform the police and bring it within acceptable standards of civilised policing has sickened the criminal justice system. I am emphasising the police because it is at the root of the criminal justice system.
In this country. Most Nigerians are rightly disenchanted with the police. The Police have made a mess of the criminal justice system due to its unbridled corruption, lawlessness, highhandedness, disregard for the rule of law, contempt for human rights and absence of effective mechanisms for checks, discipline and accountability. In this country, the Police operate largely as a mafia organization. In many instances, actual crimes are not properly investigated and at the same time, innocent people are commonly framed-up and prosecuted on trump-up charges due to the rottenness in the Police. This has led to the congestion of the custodial centres. When people refuse to part with money or are unable to give the sums illegally demanded by the police in the course of criminal investigation, the next thing you will hear is that the police will say they are charging the “case to court.” In charging cases to court, policemen hardly consider whether there is a prima facie case or not. They do not care whether the piece of evidence they are relying on has probative value or not. If you visit our custodial centres, you will be astonished by the way and manner people are denied due process of law.
The other major problem is the failure of the justice ministries of various states to discharge their functions with seriousness. Many inmates in our custodial centres wait endlessly for the Director of Public Prosecutions to write and issue legal advice on whether to prosecute their cases or not. The number of inmates Awaiting DPP’s advice is scandalously high. If the Attorneys General of states and the Attorney General of the Federation are committed to reforming the criminal justice system in the country, most of the problems in the system would have been solved. The other major problem is that the courts are saddled with so many cases with few magistrates, judges and justices to attend to them. There is also a need to digitalise the courts. Facilities for electronic recording of court proceedings should be available in all courts in Nigeria.
With your experience in prison, how would you describe the condition of the country’s correctional facilities? Or are they still prisons and not correctional centres?
What the Federal Government has done by changing the name of the Nigerian Prison Service to Nigerian Correctional Service can be likened to giving cancer a new name without finding a cure for the ailment itself. The truth of the matter is that there is nothing correctional in the Nigerian Correctional Service. As it stands today, the custodial centres lack what is required to change the life and orientation of inmates positively. My one-month sojourn in the Nigerian custodial centres left me with the unmistakable view that this country, as presently constituted, has no respect for human decency. Our politicians are evil and heartless.
Inmates are the abandoned citizens of Nigeria. The custodial centres as I have repeatedly asserted are diabolically congested. I support the call by the Minister of Interior for the release of 30% of inmates or prisons in the Nigerian custodial centres. Animals in the zoo will struggle to survive in a typical Nigerian prison. Inmates are forced to live under dirty, traumatic and dehumanising conditions. I can tell you without fear that what inmates are being fed as food is not fit for human or animal consumption. In Uyo Medium Custodial Centre, where I spent the last two weeks of my incarceration, the cell for IDRs, that is Inmates on Death Row, is scary.
Inmates defecate, eat and sleep in the same cubicle without any sort of partitioning. The IDR cell is a small space partitioned into tiny cubicles with average of three inmates per cubicle. The inmates do everything within the tiny cubicle with poor ventilation. This implies that while one inmate is defecating, another may be eating. Hygiene is esoteric in prison. Basic facilities are lacking in all the custodial centres. The situation that I witnessed is horrifying and repulsive. The government has completely failed in this respect.
Why do you think there are suspects rotting in jail without trial for years?
As I earlier stated, majority of inmates in custodial centres across the country are awaiting trial. Many of them are waiting for the DPP to decide whether to file charges in court against them or not. The system is broken and there is little or no indication that it will be fixed any time soon. The Correctional Service lacks adequate vehicles and the workforce is not well motivated. A situation where inmates cannot be taken to court for their cases due to lack of vehicles and manpower is unacceptable. The fact that courts are not working optimally has also contributed to the prolonged detention of inmates without trial.
Do you perceive that there may be human rights abuse in Nigeria’s Correctional facilities?
It is not a matter of perception, reality stares us all in the face. Prisoners or inmates in Nigeria are treated as slaves, they are considered as conquered people who are not permitted to hold opinions about their lives and living conditions. From what I witnessed during the period of my incarceration, human rights are non-existent in the prisons. The day I arrived at Uyo Custodial Centre, a very senior correctional officer told me pointedly that I had no rights in the prison and that they treat people like animals. I disagreed with her but she was vehement about her view so I simply moved on. In truth, that is how the Correctional Service treats inmates. The living condition of prisoners in Nigeria is a flagrant contravention of the human person’s fundamental right to life and dignity. Inmates are treated terribly in life and in death. When an inmate dies, they are buried shabbily in the most undignified way.
There are discussions advocating for constitutional reforms. Is reforming the constitution enough or there’s more needed in reforming the whole legal system?
I support any progressive amendment to the Constitution that will reform our justice system. The National Assembly has carried out a number of amendments to Section 285 of the Constitution to set a constitutional timeline for filing and determination of pre-election and post-election disputes. This shows that politicians are ready to tinker with the Constitution to protect their interests.
There are national and international laws protecting human rights. Why are there increasing reports of rights abuse both nationally and internationally?
Human rights violation is rampant in Nigeria because we have a lawless regime that is not interested in the rights of the citizens. The Buhari regime has taken us backwards in human rights advancement. We have a political class that treats Nigerians with utter derision. Because of the pervasive culture of impunity, violators of human rights are not punished. Citizens are regularly killed by law enforcement agents and non-state actors because of the absence of consequences for violations. We have good human rights laws in the country but the institutional mechanisms for enforcement are weak and largely inefficient. Nigeria is a very lawless country.
In this country, it is difficult to enforce monetary judgment against the government because of the repugnant provision of Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act which requires the consent of the Attorney General before judgments can be enforced against the government. This law is retrogressive and encourages impunity and disregard for the judicial process. The National Human Rights Commission has been strengthened legislatively but the political will to function efficiently is lacking.
Citizens often complain that court proceedings and the road to justice are often marred by adjournments, lack of evidence, politics, etc. Is this true and why has it become like this?
These complaints are not without merit given the nature of our judicial process and the manner in which cases are litigated in our courts. Several reasons account for repeated adjournment of cases, ranging from administrative lapses on the part of court officials, unavailability of judges, delay tactics employed by lawyers, difficulty in securing the attendance of witnesses, etc. However, the point needs to be made that the principle that justice delayed is justice denied has to be reconciled with the principle that justice should not be sacrificed on the altar of speed. It is important for a balance to be established in order not to jeopardise the principle of fair hearing. A litigant can apply for adjournment but the decision whether to adjourn a matter or not is at the discretion of the court. The law is that discretion must be exercised both judicially, and judiciously based on the circumstances of each case.
There is a need to streamline the processes and procedures of our courts to promote quick dispensation of justice. Irrespective of our differing views on the subject, one point that must remain non-negotiable is ensuring that there is no political interference with the judicial process and system. Politicians must not be allowed to continue to pollute the sanctity of our courts with their corruption, stolen money and insatiable influence. Our judges should not be seen or perceived to be acting the script of politicians in their consideration of cases before them. We need to insulate the judiciary completely from political interference. If we do not protect the judiciary from the reach of these corrupt politicians, this country will never recover. Our judicial officers should be seen to be incorruptible and above board. Judges who desecrate the judicial oath should not be spared. The National Judicial Council should be more decisive in dealing with cases bothering on judicial misconduct.
What kind of relationship should exist between a judge and a lawyer in the court of law, in order to bring justice to the common man?
The Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2016 and the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners in Nigeria 2007 have clearly articulated and defined the relationship that should exist between the Bar and the Bench.
While lawyers are mandated to treat the court with decorum and dignity, judicial officers are equally required to treat counsel who appears before them with dignity.
