Prisons boss blames judiciary, others for congestion

COMPTROLLER General of Prisons, Mallam Zakari Ibrahim yesterday identified slow judicial process, improper documentation and prosecution, among others, as responsible for the continued congestion of prisons across the country.

He stated that until the criminal justice sector wakes up to her responsibilities, efforts at revamping the prisons would continue to be hampered.

Speaking in Enugu during the official commissioning of the new case management unit designed and developed for Enugu State Prison Command by the Prisons Rehabilitation Welfare Action [PRAWA] with support from the DFID, Ibrahim observed that congestion had always occurred because stakeholders in the justice sector have not lived up to their duties.

Represented by the Deputy Comptroller General of Prisons, Alhaji Nuhu Zuru, he stated that the new case management unit, which is part of the reforms aimed at speeding up the criminal justice sector, would go a long way in enhancing records and status of cases in the state.

He stated that lack of records on crimes committed by individuals brought to prisons had at various times hampered dispensation of such cases, stressing that it has contributed to congestion in Nigerian prisons.

He pledged that the Prison Services would give the reforms programme the needed support to succeed, adding that through that, the real objective of establishing prisons as a reformatory organ would have been achieved.