85% Of Inmates Awaiting Trial In Akwa Ibom – Controller

85% Of Inmates Awaiting Trial In Akwa Ibom – Controller

By Agency Report

The Controller, Nigeria Correctional Service, Akwa Ibom Command, Mr Julius Ezugwu, said that about 2,413 out of 2,854 inmates were awaiting trials in the four correctional facilities across the state.

Ezugwu disclosed this at a one-day capacity-building session for the Akwa Ibom State Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee in Uyo on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event was organised by the Law Hub Development and Advocacy Centre in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation.

Ezugwu, who summed up the total number of inmates in the facilities to 2,854, added that the custodial centres in the state have been overcrowded.

In an effort to relieve pressure on the state’s detention centers, he filed an appeal for the Administration of Criminal Justice Law to be domesticated.

He emphasized that the facilities were meant to be a place to rehabilitate offenders and not care for those awaiting prosecution, saying that the high number of detainees awaiting trial was the cause of the overcrowding in the centers.

“We have a total of 2,854 inmates in the four facilities of the command, that is, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Eket, and Ikot Abasi.

“Out of the total number, we have about 441 convicts and 2,413 inmates awaiting trials.

“I want to say that the correctional service has been doing its part creditably and I am happy that this workshop on ACJL will lighten the weight of the correctional service,” Ezugwu said.

In her remarks, the Akwa Ibom Chief Judge, Justice Ekaette Obot, said the domestication of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act by the Criminal Justice Law of the state would have a great impact on the criminal justice system in the state.

Obot, who declared the training open, commended the Centre for organising the workshop to equip committee members with relevant knowledge to function effectively.