E.D NHRC Proff Bem Angwe Visits Al Musatapha And Other Inmates In Lagos.

The Executive Director of the NHRC has  promised to  work towards ensuring that inmates in the Nigerian prisons enjoy their natural rights as guaranteed by the constitution and that they are ready to pursue cases of those who have spent several years in detention without trial.He stated this while on a working visit to Kirikiri maximum prisons in Lagos.

He also met with condemned former Chief Security Officer to General Sani Abacha, the late Head of State, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha  who said  little may be achieved by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, in its bid to eradicate violation of the rights of inmates in Nigerian prisons.

Al-Mustapha who met with the visiting team of the National Human Rights Commission led by its executive director, Prof. Ben Angwe at the Kirikiri maximum prisons, Lagos like other inmates hailed the efforts of the Federal Government and the commission to ensure that inmates of the Nigerian prisons enjoy inviolable rights as guarantee by the Nigeria constitution and international treaties.The commission flagged off prison’s audit on access to justice by inmates with attendance from other stakeholders, including police, prisons, National  Assembly, and state government, represented by the Ministry of Justice.Al-Mustapha who was met and interrogated by the team like other condemned inmates on etheir experiences said there was improvement on the welfare of inmates compared to what he met when he was first brought to the prison in 1999, but disclosed that there are lots to be done by the commission to guarantee the human rights of the inmates.According to him, most of the problem was not from the prison but from the police and the judiciary who arrest and gave order for detention of suspects in prisons respectively.He said, “this is a good development. What your commission and the government are doing is commendable. But I have to tell you that the prison is only a custodian of the inmates, but the grinding engine are the police and the judiciary.“For you to achieve something tangible, you need to focus on the police and the judiciary. They are the people who sent suspects here without trial and hid cases for several years.”He promised to offer advice on how to improve the Nigerian prisons, if he eventually win his appeal in court.
The complaints from the inmates were those who have spent more than 10 years behind bar as awaiting trial.Also, vice-chairman house committee on judiciary and human rights, Rotimi Makinde also promised that the ongoing review of the constitution by the National Assembly will focus on the prison and the rights of suspects.

Source Vanguard