The road meanders through the hungry marina trees that have eaten up its coated asphalt, paving the way for erosion. The erosion was tha fall out of poor drainage system, washing away what remained of its beauty.
Overlooking the bumpy road is a legion of houses and shafts that accompany one to Kuje Prison. Normally, fierce looking security personnel will confront you about your mission to one of the country’s most prominent reformatory home.
Abuja Metro was in the company with officials from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and had no problem with security checks. But before entering the prison at the main gate, all visitors were lined up and searched with mobile phones and other items considered as contraband taken away by prison officials. Thereafter, the iron door was thrown open for entry into the penitentiary facility.
The prison space is about 1,250 feet in length and about 878 feet in width enclosing large acres of land. The enclosure is hedged in by high walls capped with iron fence about 16 feet high, on the outside of which a parapet wall about 12 feet from the ground stands so imposing. Here, the sentinels are placed overlooking the prison.
Inside the prison, two giant trees occupy the open space where some of the inmates were assembled to receive their guests. The event was the flag off of the nationwide audit of prisons and other detention facilities.
The look from the faces of the inmates revealed that they suffer profound and pervasive psychological disintegration because of their present circumstances. Their plight, which is a source of concern, is an agony to every heart not absolutely dead to the feelings of common humanity and the scantiest Christian mercy.
Unfazed inmate
Even as some of them feigned smiles at officials of the Commission, traces of agony lurked in their innermost minds still hung palpable on their faces.
Among them was a stocky and macho looking convict simply addressed as Ofem Sankara. He was in high spirit and seemed to forget his sufferings in his present wretchedness as he had neither time to lament, nor the inclination to talk about his treatment in prison.
All he had to say, when he was called up to speak was a request to the officials of the Commission, led by the Executive Secretary, Professor Bem Angwe, for the supply of industrial sewing machines to enhance skill acquisition for the inmates.
No doubt, Sankara was popular among his colleagues as he was given a heroic ovation when he stood to speak. His big stomach, a rare specie of a Nigerian prisoner, notwithstanding, he delivered his message in brief but straight to the point devoid of unnecessary mannerism and protocols.
Executive lamentation
Next was Dr. Shuiabu Sani Teidi who gave a graphic account of his ordeal and incarceration in the hands of Justice Adeniyi Ademola whom he accused of deliberate plot to keep him perpetually in jail.
To establish his claim, Teidi stated that in what appears a clear departure from the N10m bail with one surety in like sum totalling N20m granted him by Justice Bello over the same offence, Justice Ademola admitted him to bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum, a total of N1.5b and later increased.
He told the bewildered visitors that he had spent 11 months in the facility after perfecting his bail condition, yet the judge had refused to let him go.
Teidi, who further attributed his ordeal to his political ambition was later to make a case for some inmates whose cases are pending before the suspended judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Talba. It was his appeal that the cases be transferred to other courts for expeditious trial, rather than wait endlessly for the return of the suspended judge.
Dr Shaibu is facing a criminal trial before Justice Ademola alongside a former member of staff of Oceanic Bank, Mr. Udusegbe Omoefe Eric, and a few other corporate persons. In the 22-count charge slammed on them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) they were accused of obtaining money by false pretence, conspiracy to commit fraud and concealing the illicit origin of stolen pension funds.
Okah’s battle with snakes
Although, Mr. Charles Okah refused to show up at the square to speak, he later told the Commission in his solitary cell No. 5 that his cell needs adequate ventilation and fumigation to keep off deadly insects and reptiles.
To drive home his point, Okah, who is standing trial over the Independence Day twin bombings in Abuja on October 1, 2010 said he was once attacked by a snake which he eventually killed and showed it to the authorities.
He lamented that the heat emitting from the cell is like oven as they are forced to sleep naked at nights.
Alone, distraught
As he spoke, Abuja Metro attention strayed into one of the cells where the occupant, a middle-aged man was fumbling with a black sack. He brought out an exercise book from it, looked at it smilingly for a time, and then put it back into the sack and began to stare at the visitors.
It was a face of a middle aged man, bearded, with weak eyes from which tears ran down in torrents. One wouldn’t fathom what pierced his mind that suddenly changed his countenance from smiling to tear drops. He adjusted his position, supported his left jaw with his left hand. He had to change his position again, this time backing the door and it was noticeable that he was bent and his limbs looked shrunk.
One striking feature was his lack of care about basic lessons of hygiene. He was very dirty, unkempt and his hands cracked by the harsh weather that corrodes his environment. The report about him from other inmates is that he loathes company, and therefore prefers to be just alone.
Apart from the incidents narrated by Okah and other little challenges, the general environment at the prison was decent compared to prisons in other of such facilities in the country. Specifically, the Kuje Prisons looks like a departure from the erstwhile punitive dispositions of many a prison.
The one-story two units’ block is finished in exciting and friendly colours to create a reformative ambience which can possibly inspire repentance and change.
An elated Deputy Comptroller of Prisons Musa Tanko who conducted the team round the prison said the authorities are determined to improve the living conditions of the inmates.
JAMB candidates
During the visit, some inmates were seen preparing for the UMTE JAMB examinations while others were at the computer centre provided by the Christ Embassy Church as study centre for the Nigeria Open University (NOUN) programme.
We were told that 33 inmates matriculated for the Open University Programme.
At the prison’s clinic, the pharmacist in charge, Idachaba Joseph said the clinic had just taken stocks of essential drugs for the treatment of inmates. He disclosed that the commonest ailments in the prison are malaria and skin infections.
Also at the Dental section, the Dental Surgeon, Dr. Lawal Adeyinka told the team that the prison just acquired a modern machine, while at the laboratory section, the Laboratory Scientist; Adewumi Adegoke said he needed constant electricity supply and water.
The cells were astonishingly glittering with white tiles stuck in the toilets and bathrooms, including television sets and standing fans for the inmates. As at the time of the visit, some inmates were glued to some exciting programmes on their television sets.
The team also visited the kitchen where the Executive Secretary and his lieutenants had a test of the food prepared by the inmates.
Although, prisons are ideally reformative institutions, and not expected to be a bed of roses as the inmates are there for penal assignments, neither are they supposed to be a bed of thorns and thistles meant to snuff life out of the occupants.
It is in the light of this that one can appreciate the efforts of authorities at the Kuje Prisons for striking a balance especially in the sanitary and medical situation of the inmates. There may be other challenges but not to the extent that would make the inmates leave the prison frail, fragile and with one debilitating disease or the other.
We’ll care for you
Back to the event, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC Prof. Angwe in his speech assured inmates that their problems would be addressed to make their stay in prison profitable and in conformity with the minimum international standards.
He said the aim of the visit was to address prison congestion, infrastructure decay and lack of access to justice or proper healthcare.
The professor of law explained that Section 6€ of the National Human Rights Commission (Amendment) Act 2010, empowers the Commission to visit prisons and other places of detention to ascertain conditions therein and make recommendations to the appropriate authorities.
On the request made by inmate Sankara, Angwe promised to personally acquire industrial sewing machines for the prison to enhance their skill acquisition.
Earlier in his speech, the Comptroller of Prison in charge of the FCT, Zakari Ibrahim disclosed that of the 754 inmates at the prison, 549 of them are Awaiting Trial Inmates (ATI) that have spent between 10 to 12 years in prison.
Between jail and prison
Abuja Metro left Kuje Prisons with one observation to make and that is the need to differentiate between a jail and prison. A jail is a transitional facility for those undergoing legal proceedings, those awaiting judgment on their trial. A prison on the other hand, is for those whose judicial fates have been decided; those who have been convicted.
With these clear differences, maybe the government should think of separating one group from the other in the detention facilities for a more decent handling.
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