‘It’s a conglomeration of incompetence’

[Mirror]

Mohammed Fawehinmi is a Lagos lawyer and human right activist. He spoke with THOMAS USHIE. Excerpts:

Do you think that the call for the creation of state prisons is justified? What is your take on the condition of prisons in the country?

The poor state of the prisons across the nation can be blamed on the Minister of Interior. He has not done anything to build, rehabilitate, decongest, or make the prison conducive for the rehabilitation and correction of convicts.

The minister has only been playing to the gallery. Since assumption of office, the minister has not done anything tangible to ameliorate the plight of prisoners in the country. I think this minister of interior (Abba Moro), is the worst interior minister ever. There has been such much criticism of this administration as a whole and we have thought that there would be changes but even the president himself does not care about the country.

So, nothing positively is happening. Until they have a concrete plan on the rehabilitation of prisoners rather than punishment and death, prisoners and the prison service would remain in the pathetic condition they are.

What do you think is the way forward?

Even the prisons that have correctional facilities are still so deplorable. So, my advice to the Minister of Interior is that he should stop engaging in publicity stunt and start doing something concrete. He should have a unified plan for all the prisons in terms of health, evaluation of the justice system, environment, provision of security for the prisoners and warders.

Proper security has become necessary because all the prison breaks we have had in the country is due to security lapses and his incompetence. So, he should sit down and work instead of just pocketing the money allocated to his ministry.

Sir, do you think that the call for the creation of state prison is viable?

Yes. It is. All these have to do with planning. Every year, the Chief Justice of every state goes to the prisons in their various domains and grant some prisoners pardon. However, it takes a very proactive state government to have, operate and maintain a functional state prison. It is not that it is not allowed. It is.

But what is your assessment of people awaiting trial?

That is what I was saying. The minister is not doing anything. He should be in constant correlation with the Attorney General of the Federation and the entire justice department to make sure that so many people who are awaiting trial are tried quickly and those who are found not guilty should be freed.

They should not be kept there for nothing. It does not work that way. That is not justice. The Attorney General is not working. They are just pocketing money.

They don't have any plan. And there are some people who would be in that prison awaiting trial and die. There are some people in there who were just picked up for wandering. You know that when there are outbreaks of disease in the prison, the inmates die in their numbers. So, the ministers are not working. If they are working, they would have a list of all those awaiting trials. But they don't have. Go and check with them and you will discover that they do not have such lists.

Do you think that the way and manner the police arrest people have much to do with the number of those awaiting trials?

It is a conglomeration of incompetence. It starts with the police, facilitated with the justice system, and ends with the Minister of Interior. They all work together as one and their incompetence is shared. The police are to enforce the law; we are to interpret the law and pass judgment. And when an accused is convicted and incarcerated, it is the police that execute the judgment.

So, it is a chain. But the minister must do his work. If he has a plan then he would be able to know how to attend to those awaiting trials; then he would be able to cater for those serving prison sentences. But Abba Moro knows nothing.

National Mirror