Mr. Olukayode Salako, public commentator and national coordinator of Change Agent of Nigeria Network (CANN) spoke with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE. Excerpts:
What are your view about the state of Nigerian prisons?
Nigerian prisons are only built and meant for poor people; offenders of the law that are poor. The Nigerian prison is not a kind of prison that is in existence to punish poor and rich people that violated the law, it is only meant for the poor and that can be reflected in the poor state of many of Nigerian prisons. In Nigeria, the poor go to prison, while the rich go to detention. The prison is built for the poor and that is why many of the prisoners are living under pathetic situation in the prison.
The prison in Nigeria is like a jungle; a place that is supposed to be a kind of hell on earth. The facilities are obsolete; even when they are not obsolete they are not still ideal for normal human habitation. The prison is meant to be a place to rehabilitate; not only to punish the offenders of the law, to help them get back to their senses. But unfortunately for us in Nigeria, our prisons are places that even harden the heart of the offenders of the law.
Recently there was a call for state-owned prisons. What is your take on this?
For as long as the law is not allowing state police to exist, I don't think the law will make provision for states to own prisons. The only way that can make it easy is when the law permits the states to have police. If the state is permitted to have state police, definitely the law will also permit it to have state prison. But as at now we only have federal police. Security is being controlled from the federal level and that is why it might be difficult for state to start building its own prison.
National Mirror