NGO worries over state of prisons, inmates’ treatment

Prison Rehabilitation and Law-Abiding Organisation (PRALARG) International has expressed concern over the undignified manner inmates are subjected to in prisons in Nigeria. 

The non-governmental organization, therefore, called for a more humane way of prison rehabilitation of inmates as a way to curb recurring criminal tendencies among ex-convicts. 

This concern was handed down by the founder and Chief Executive Officer of PRALARG International, Comrade Akinwumi Olayemi, on Friday, during the yearly conference of the organization in Ibadan, Oyo State. 

The theme for this year’s conference is: “Rehabilitation as a Right: Balancing security, justice and human dignity in corrections.” 

He said, “This conference is to celebrate the faithfulness of God in the last ten years of this non-profit organization. PRALARG International started in 2015 in Nigeria, and we have handled various issues, but the most worrisome of them is the issue of people coming out of prison; sadly, they become worse off when they return to society. 

“We understand the reason. PRALARG International has dedicated ourselves to tackling the problem from the inception of this NGO. Majority of the people in prison are not supposed to be there if the government is doing the right thing. People’s rights have been violated and they were jailed. 

“Also, there is ignorance of the law and what an offence is. There is also the issue of alternative dispute resolution, which a third party could have handled to prevent people from going to jail. These concerns and many more are what we ensured are addressed in PRALARG International.” 

Speaking on the theme of the two-day conference, Comrade  Olayemi said, “As we celebrate and thank God for these ten years’ achievements, we are committed to doing better and expand our reach. The problem is that there is no classification in prison. 

“This way, someone who was detained for stealing can learn how to carry a gun. They can monitor them from prison. How can the government tackle this problem?. What about the issue of raiding that negates the right to movement of persons? 

“These people are arraigned in court and jailed, and they end up spending all their money on litigation, and after they are released, these people do not have any money to make a living when they return to society. 

“They do not have the empowerment nor the money to go back home. The question is, how do you want this person to fall back into society?  This is the same person who has interacted with criminals in prisons. 

“They have no alternative to survival than to take back to crime, and this time, they will be worse off.”

Proffering solutions to the flaws in prison rehabilitation, Comrade Olayemi said, “We are saying that as a whole, human dignity should be inculcated into law enforcement and rehabilitation. 

“In a bid to keep criminals away, punish for crime and security of the society in general, locking people up should be done with human face, with empathy and with dignity. This is very crucial because we must bear it in the back of our minds that these people will come back to society, and if they have been maltreated, punished unnecessarily, they will make society a living hell; they will come back and punish other people. 

“Therefore, our correction facilities should carry out the rehabilitation, empowerment with human dignity”.

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