Fear of epidemic looms in police cells as courts reject remand suspects in Lagos
Crime Editor Emma Nnadozie
Fears of significant disease breakouts loom in police cells across Lagos State, following the suspension of suspect admissions from the police by the Nigerian Prisons Service, NPS.
Courts have already instructed police to use Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR, to address issues related to this development.
As a result, detainees in various police cells throughout the state have swelled to the point that some police investigators have converted their offices into prisons to ensure that suspected criminals are not released to terrorize innocent members of society.
TalkTalk Nigeria investigations showed that the NPS announced in court as a result of prison congestion.
As a result, police investigators are perplexed about what to do with a large number of suspects detained for various violent crimes such as murder, cultism, robbery, felony, and so on.
According to police sources, ADR is only used for small instances such as land disputes, tenant/landlord issues, and so on, and not for violent crimes.
It was discovered that following the announcement, the number of suspects in police cells increased exponentially, making it difficult for detectives to deal with the cases before them, particularly violent offenses.
Prior to this advancement, violent crime suspects were typically remanded in prisons while the court decided their destiny.
Checks indicated that police cells are now crowded with serious offenders, making police investigators' jobs more difficult.
According to TalkTalk Nigeria, the situation has deteriorated to the point where some police stations are transferring suspects to other stations in the state with more space to avoid an epidemic or jail break.
According to reports, when the Comptroller of Prisons in Lagos paid a courtesy call on the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State a few weeks ago, he bemoaned that the five prisons in the state were intended for 4500 inmates but housed no less than 9,500.
He allegedly indicated that there was no more space in the state's jails and that bringing additional individuals to the prisons would result in disease outbreaks or possibly jailbreaks.
This followed the judiciary's failure to exercise its prerogative of mercy in granting release to even awaiting trial detainees whose statutory punishments are not up to five years, but who had been awaiting trial for that long.
Worse, many inmates are on death row, yet governors have not signed their death orders.
In response to the incident, Lagos State Police spokesman David Hyndai stated, "We are aware of the Nigeria Correctional Center's pronouncement and its impact on us, but it will not deter us from carrying out our constitutional duties." We cannot cease arresting criminals; we continue to receive distress calls and make arrests. We hope that the courts will soon resume taking cases.
"We did not stop receiving suspects from police," stated NPS Public Relations Officer O. Oladokun. It is from the court, and it is not completely embargoed. It is only a partial limitation on the volume we take from the court. It was done due to overcrowding in our prisons. There are other options. That is why the Correctional Center's Controller, the Attorney General, and the Chief Judge are attempting to fix the concerns, and they have made a pledge to do so."
