Civil rights lawyer Femi Falana SAN has urged the Honourable Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to re-evaluate his recent plan to pay the fines of 4,000 prisoners in order to relieve the overcrowding in Nigeria’s correctional facilities.
While Falana commends the Minister for his efforts to address the urgent problem of overcrowding, he suggests using the N500 million set aside for fine payments in a more creative way. He proposes that these funds be used to improve the welfare of prisoners.
Falana further suggests that the Minister pursue humanitarian pardons from the governor and president for the 4,000 prisoners who are unable to pay their fines. This audacious action would guarantee their prompt release and offer a more practical way to relieve jail overcrowding.
Falana also exhorts Nigeria’s Chief Justice and Chief Judges nationwide to exercise their legal authority and grant the release of inmates detained illegally for periods longer than allowed by law.
Falana calls attention to the plight of Ikoyi Prison convicts awaiting trial, whose case files were misplaced during the 2020 #EndSARS demonstrations. On this three-year anniversary of the protests, he begs the Interior Minister to guarantee the inmates’ unconditional release since there are no records available for their prosecution.
Falana emphasises in his closing remarks that, while attempts to lower the jail population are commendable, it is just as critical to put inmate wellbeing first and protect inmates’ fundamental human rights through legal release procedures.