More than 50,000 suspects are in Nigerian prisons, 36,000 of whom are awaiting trial, the Controller-General, Nigerian Prisons Service, Mr Zakari Ibrahim, has disclosed.

He made the disclosure in Abuja at a workshop on the “Human Rights Integration Project,” organised by Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), an NGO, for prison officials.

“We in the prisons have our own challenges; first we have an awaiting trial population that has refused to go down. As I speak to you today, over 50,000 people are in custody.

“Thirty six thousand of this number is awaiting trial, this makes us work more to contain than to reform,” he said.

He called for collaborative efforts by the government, at all levels, to achieve meaningful growth in prisons operations.

Ibrahim observed that, although the Nigerian Prisons Service was faced with security challenges, there was a need to balance the necessity of security with the needs of prisoners under custody.

He identified the increase in number of inmates awaiting trials and lack of funding of prisons as some of the challenges facing the service.

“But it is my hope that after policy makers have come to terms with the security implications of funding the prisons poorly, this may be the last time we may have to lament over this.

“This process of driving the reform is ongoing, as we are very determined to change the face of our prisons. This calls, therefore, for the collective efforts of all to bring this dream to fruition.

“This training is one of them and it is my hope that more of such trainings will take place so as to prepare our officers and men the challenges of a new prisons service in Nigeria,” he added.

He advised the participants to use the knowledge acquired to educate their colleagues on human rights.

He said this could be achieved through their “Thursday lectures” which served as training for prison officials.

Speaking, the Chairperson, African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, Mrs Catherine Atoki,said that regular training and retraining on prisons was necessary for achieving the objective of prison reform.

She decried the poor conditions of prison inmates and advised prison officials to always enrich their knowledge on prison operations.

“Prisoners should be treated with dignity because just as the prison official has a right to be protected, the prisoners also have the right to be protected, and the best way to go about it is training.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of PRAWA, Dr Uju Agomoh,  said that the workshop was organised to sensitise prison officials to International Human Rights principles and good governance.

She added that plans were under way by the organisation to sensitise prisoners in the country to their rights and duties to reduce cases of torture.

Our correspondent reports that the workshop attracted stakeholders from the Nigerian Prison Service and civil society organisations.