NHRC begins audit of Prisons facilities in Nigeria.

(File image)

Perturbed by the rising spate of jailbreaks across the country, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, said, yesterday, it had commenced an audit of prisons facilities in the country.


The commission, in a statement signed by Head of its Media Unit, Mrs. Fatimah Agwai Mohammad, said it would in line with its mandate, also visit other detention centres in the nation.

It said the 2016 Prison audit exercise, which was flagged off in Awka, Anambra State, would go on simultaneously in all the 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, where the NHRC has zonal and state offices.

It said: “The prison audit exercise will examine the general condition of the prison inmates, the prison officials and prison infrastructure and make appropriate recommendations to the authorities.

“The audit will particularly examine the access to justice issues and welfare of both awaiting trial inmates and convicts and make appropriate recommendations to authorities and stakeholders.

“This audit will be followed by a national prison conference to examine the issue of human rights of prison inmates and the challenges of security at the prisons.”

“The outcome of the audit and the conference will help to proffer solutions to the current spate of jailbreaks in the prisons.”

“This year’s Prison Audit exercise was flagged-off by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe, working in collaboration with the National Assembly,” the statement read.