Judiciary, Police Disagree Over Prison Congestion Prison Authority Reacts

The Judiciary, Police and Prison authorities in Rivers State have disagreed over congestion in Port Harcourt Prisons in which more than 2,000 inmates are currently being accommodated. The Prison was initially meant for 500 inmates.

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Iche Ndu, who spoke at the first ever Judiciary Town Hall meeting earlier in Port Harcourt, jointly organised by the United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) and the State Judiciary, exonerated the judiciary from any blame concerning prison congestion in Port Harcourt.

Iche Ndu, who acknowledged that the state has the best crop of judicial officers, noted that for the judiciary to come into criminal matters the police must have arrested the suspect, investigated the charges and filed an advice to the Ministry of Justice to enable the judiciary dispense justice.

Still lending support to the claim, the state Solicitor-General, Dame Mina Benibo, who represented the Attorney-General and commissioner for Justice, said files of some suspects are not sent for years and in most cases investigations are inconclusive thereby making it impossible for the judiciary to handle such matters.

Dame Benibo expressed regret, however, that some people are languishing in prison because their files are not available for treatment. Following this development she said the judiciaries have set machinery in motion to ensure decongestion of prisons.

But the police, represented by the state Police Public Relations Officers, Mrs. Rita Abbey, said the police should not be held responsible for prison congestion even though she did not shift the blame to anybody.

Mrs. Abbey said the law enforcement agents are doing their best in the dispensation of criminal justice.

On the proposal that a body should be set up to police the police, the PPRO said there is already a provost department check-mating the excesses of some policemen and called on the public to provide useful information on corrupt practices concerning any police officer.

The Comptroller of Prisons in Port Harcourt, Mr. Ralph Eke, said the problem of prison congestion will continue until the capacity of the prison in the state is upgraded.

According to him, since after independence the capacity of the prison has remained the same in spite of the fact that the number of inmates continues to grow in alarming proportion.