The facilitator of the working group, Olawale Fapohunda (SAN), revealed that most inmates were languishing in prisons due to lack of legal representation, and the inability of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria to cope with the huge number of cases.
Fapohunda noted that while auditing the correctional centres, the group interfaced with categories of inmates and found their conditions unpalatable.
He said in one custodial centre, the working group discovered at least seven inmates remanded for offences relating to terrorism and have been on remand for upwards of 10 years from the date of detention, adding that the group was unable to find any record showing their arraignment since the date of their detention.
Besides the lack of legal representation, Fapohunda said most of the inmates were suffering ailments that the prison authorities could not bear the cost of medication.
He, therefore, pleaded with the AGF and the Federal Government to come to the rescue of the correctional centres and inmates to alleviate their poor conditions.
Fapohunda, a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, in Ekiti State, urged the AGF to convene an emergency meeting of the Body of Attorneys-General with a view to achieving a coordinated response between the federal and state governments on the legal status of all inmates, including those who have overstayed without trial.
In his remarks, the AGF explained that the working group was constituted as part of efforts to ensure access to justice and ensure that people were not unduly detained in custodial centres.
According to Fagbemi, the move is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, and national and international instruments.
