How Prison System Toughened Me – Freed Inmate
By Sola Jacobs
One of the recently released inmates from Ife Prison has declared that the prison system rather than being a reformatory centre toughened inmates and make them worse-off.
The freed inmate, who preferred anonymity, in a chat with Osun Defender disclosed that he was incarcerated on alleged armed robbery without trial while his other co-suspects had since regained freedom because their family could afford the legal service which proved their innocence of the alleged offence.
While giving insight into his background, he claimed that he is an orphan, living with friends, and on the day of their arrest for armed robbery, one of their friends visited and he did not know that he was recently released from prison.
He said, “We have scarcely had anything to eat in the last three days prior to his coming, so, when he asked me to follow him to a shop at around 8.30 am in a popular commercial centre, three of us went there on a motorcycle, I never knew that he was armed with pistol, and as we got to a provision shop, he stepped down from the motorcycle and asked me to follow him.
“To my surprise, he pulled out a gun from his back pocket and the owner of the shop surrendered all her sales for the day to him and as we left the shop, she raised alarm, and being a first timer, others raced off on the motorcycle while I was apprehended and taken to the police station”.
The police, he said, later followed him to his friend’s resident “where I live and they denied knowing me, we were arrested, but the main culprit who invited me for the operation had left and was not even arrested for trial. That was how I got remanded in prison, after my appearance in court three times without conviction”.
The freed inmate however was grateful when respite came his way, during the chief judge of the State of Osun, Justice Oyebola Adepele-Ojo visit to Ife prison and ordered his release with other 12 inmates.
Speaking of his experience in prison, he lamented the pitiable, over-crowding condition of the prison, lack of inadequate medical treatment, adequate water supply and convenience facilities.
A prison official who remained anonymous while corroborating his claims in a chat with the medium said the intention of the Prison Reform Act which was traced to Obasanjo regime in 2001 to ensure decongestion of prisons and improve conditions of prisons has not been achieved.
The official stated further that in 2016, the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation was established and it recommended improvement of the conditions of service of prison and police officials, as well as the issue of prison congestion and the large number of prisoners awaiting trials.
“The presidential committee was established in March, 2006 to review the administration of Justice in Nigeria and propose sustainable reform but till date, imprisonment is being overused, including cases of non-violent persons suspected of minor offences.
He decried logistics and transportation system, whereby sometimes the prison officials out of pity will source for fuel for the transportation of inmate to court.
Speaking on the role of police prosecutors in some cases, he said they see prison as dumping ground, saying, when they arraign suspects in court, they only seek their remand in prison custody and in most cases will not expedite any action on the mater.
He added that legal services is another factor that contribute to the overcrowding of the prison, saying it is either that the suspect lack means of service or in most time, not paying for such service which make lawyers to hands off their matter, then they become the property of the prison.
“If the prison system must effectively serves the purpose of reformation and rehabilitation, as well as corrective centre, negligence and disregard of the welfare of the prisoners especially those awaiting trials must be emphasized, as well as that of convicted prisoners”, he added.
