Crime & SecurityNewsNigeria600 Inmates Are Awaiting Trial In Bauchi Correctional Centres –NcoS

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Bauchi State has said that out of 900 inmates in the state’s correctional centres, around 600 are still awaiting trial for various offences.

Assistant Superintendent of the service, Ahmed Tata, who is the spokesperson of the NCoS in Bauchi, disclosed this during a one-day workshop on the use of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).

The event, which was organized by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) and held in Bauchi on Tuesday, had participants from the judiciary, Ministry of Justice, security agencies, and other stakeholders.

Tata attributed the overcrowdings of prisons to delays in the justice system, because many people are being held without trial and that proper use of the ACJL could help reduce the problem.

“The law already exists, but suspects without judgments are just kept in prison,” he said. “If the law is used well, it will reduce overcrowding. Right now, almost 600 out of 900 inmates are still awaiting trial.”

Also speaking, Chief Magistrate Sefiya Musa who was surprised to learn that Bauchi ranks 28th in the country in justice delivery, while Nasarawa ranks third, said the training came at the right time.

“We thought we were doing fine, but these facts are a wake-up call,” she said. “Although the MacArthur Foundation has supported efforts in this area, we need to do more and work together.”

Sharon Jibaniya, who represented the CSLS Executive Director, Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), said similar workshops were happening in other states to help improve how the law is used.

Professor Akinseye-George warned that without urgent action, the state could fall further behind in delivering justice and called on the Bauchi State Government to support the judiciary more.

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Hassan Umar Shallpella (Regional Correspondent)

Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.

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