The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed April 3 for judgment in a suit filed by Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative against the Federal Government over last year’s electrocution of five inmates at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Justice Mohammed Liman fixed the judgment date on Monday after taking arguments from the parties to the suit.
The defendants in the suit are the Federal Government; Attorney General of the Federation; Minister of Interior; Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service; Lagos State Controller of Correctional Service; Attorney General of Lagos State; and the Chief Judge of Lagos State.
In the suit argued on Monday by its Director, Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem, PRAI contends that the electrocution of the inmates on December 2, 2019 was due to the negligence of the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
It added that the Attorney General of the Federation and the Attorney General of Lagos State should be blamed for the overcrowding in the prison, which, it said was blamable for the casualty figure.
The human rights group is urging the court to declare that “the 1st – 5th respondents’ failure to keep a safe and conducive custody of inmates in the Ikoyi Medium Security Custodial Centre was responsible for the electrocution, which led to the death of at least five inmates and injury of at least 10 others.”
It said the incident was “a breach of the inmates’ rights of freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment enshrined in Section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Sections 10(b), 14(8) and 24 of the Nigerian Correctional Act, 2019 and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners (as revised in 2015) A/RES/70/175.”
PRAI prayed the court to hold that “the overcrowding of the Ikoyi Medium Security Custodial Centre, which was originally built in 1955 to accommodate 800 inmates, but, now holding about 3,113 inmates as at 3rd December 2019, is unconstitutional and violates the inmates’ fundamental right of freedom from degrading treatment and respect for dignity of their persons under Section 34(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
Among other prayers, the group seeks an order, “compelling the 1st and 3rd respondents to keep the Ikoyi Medium Security Custodial Centre in the good shape, provide the necessary vocational, educational, recreational health facilities and reduce the overcrowding by building more correctional facilities in the Lagos State within 12 months from the date judgment is delivered in this case.”
It also wants the court to compel the government to tender public apology to the inmates in at least two nationwide newspapers for the violation of their rights.
