By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
The Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI) has said that about 75 per cent of inmates in the country are pretrial detainees.
Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, President, NULAI, explained that pretrial detention has led in overcrowding at the correctional centres in Nigeria.
Speaking at an event tagged ‘Reforming Pretrial Detention in Nigeria (RPDN): Project Retrospective Outlook Close -out Session’ organised in Abuja on Thursday, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, noted that the figure in Nigeria is 75 per cent, saying that it has been consistent.
Speaking through the Executive Director of NULAI, Mukhtar Nasiru, he further explained, “What I mean by 75 per cent is that for every 100 people in the correctional centre, 75 of them are pretrial detainees.”
According to him, it means that the cases have not been decided, not been convicted, explaining that only 25 per cent have been convicted.
Prof. Ernest Ojukwu observed that NULAI in the Federal Capital Territory and Keffi, Nasarawa State, in five years, resolved about 1,400 pretrial detention cases.
He added that over 500 law students have been able to support pro bono lawyers to intervene in pre-trial detention cases and over 1,400 cases have been resolved.
