Detention
By Wandoo Sombo
Abuja, April 25, 2018 (NAN)The National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC) on Wednesday cricised law enforcement agencies for excessive use of pre-trial detention, saying that it negates the right to personal liberty of citizens.
Mrs Oti Ovrawah, Acting Executive Secretary of the commission made the assertion on Wednesday in Abuja at a stakeholders consultative dialogue on challenges of pre-trial detention in the country.
The dialogue was organised by the commission to commemorate the 2018 African Pre-Trial Detention Day.
According to Ovrawah, even though a close examination of some laws in Nigeria allows pre-trial detention in certain circumstances, available evidence shows excessive use or abuse of the practice.
“This negates the human rights safeguard of the right to personal liberty, and the constitutional provision of presumption of innocence of all accused persons until proven guilty.
“It has also been shown that the arbitrary use of the practice is a major cause of prison congestion which exposes detainees to high risk of various human rights violations,” Ovrawah said.
The NHRC boss also noted that the practice had also been shown to result in violation of international norms, the rule of law and waste of public funds.
She added that the human and socio-economic toll of pre-trial detention on human development was huge and the need to tackle the challenges could not be overemphasised.
“National efforts like the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, the recently constituted Federal Government committee to address the challenge of pre-trial detention among others, points to our collective responsibility at curbing the menace.”
She said that the commission on its part, would continue its regular audits of prisons as well as training of law enforcement personnel on human rights standards as it pertained to their statutory responsibilities.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), reports that the African Pre-Trial Detention Day is marked on April 25 every year.
It is commemorated to keep the issue on the front burner in order to increase awareness on the human rights implications of pre-trial detention and proffer recommendations to reverse the trend.(NAN)
WS/SH
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edited by Sadiya Hamza