70,000 inmates awaiting trial — Legal expert

No fewer than 70,000 inmates are currently awaiting trial in the country’s correctional centres across the country, a legal expert, Dr John Omughele said.

Omughele while presenting a keynote address at a town hall meeting tagged ‘Access to Justice’ supported by Public Private Development Centre (PPDC) and US Department of State Bureau for Narcotics and Enforcement Affairs held at Hotel Seventeen, Kaduna on Tuesday said it is not good for the system, saying, the implications are enormous, like feeding the inmates, taking care of their health challenges, decongesting them etc.

Omughele argued that “We can not continue to remain like that, we must improve the system and ensure that our correctional centres are decongested.

“It is not that their cases had been concluded or they’re serving terms but from my findings about 70,000 inmates are awaiting trial.

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According to the legal expert, “We must address the administration of criminal justice by making sure the Chief Judges assign cases with dispatch within a particular period to judges who will treat cases in time.

He also said meetings like town hall meetings are recommended because it will afford practitioners to look inwards with the view to see what we done right or wrong.

Earlier, the CEO, PPDC, Jibril Shitttu noted that his centre is working with institutions in the justice sector to promote speedy and efficient dispensation of justice by making the court processes more efficient.

To this end, he stressed that their main focus is to strengthen and scale up reforms targeting service delivery among criminal justice institutions.

He noted that, “Nigeria’s criminal justice institutions are underdeveloped and collectively lack the capacity to meet the justice needs of the people.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE