Officials decry overcrowding at Kirikiri Prison

Cyriacus Izuekwe

The management of Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos State, western Nigeria, has decried the deplorable condition of the prison due to congestion.
Officials who spoke recently stated that the prison population is far more than the capacity the facilities could handle called for an urgent solution to avoid a looming catastrophe.
The prison officials made this known during the recent yearly party held for the inmates.
Assistant controller of the prison, ACP Akande Oluwasegun, explained that the prison capacity is about 1,770 for inmates and said the halls have over 2,600 inmates thereby stretching the prison facilities with additional 800 inmates.
Oluwasegun said out of the number, over 90 percent of the inmates are awaiting trial and the rest are convicts.
He noted that the Lagos State judiciary is doing its best to dispense justice and added that there was need to speed up the process so that the prison would not continue to face congestion challenges.
Oluwasegun, who represented the Controller of the prison, said that the party was organised to encourage the inmates and assure them that despite the situation they found themselves, there was still hope in the future for them.
He said while the inmates are prison, the officials have embarked on their rehabilitation to bring out their skills and prepare them to be useful in future when they eventually leave the prison.
He said many of them have acquired skills in different areas including education and if they are set free, they will be useful to the society.
Olusegun thanked individuals, organizations and religious bodies for their assistance in reducing the effect of the congestion and providing the needs of the prison and seek more support from them to enable them to continue to embark on the reform programmes.
He explained that the prison had undergone transformation as prisons are no longer a place where inmates are punished but a place where they are reformed to be better in future.
The event was attended by the representative of Lagos State Chief Justice, Mrs Eniola Fabamwo, was given awards for her contributions to prison reforms; Tunde Ladipo, Commandant, Prison Training College who was also given an award and other senior prison officials graced the occasion.
The occasion provided opportunity for inmates to display their skills acquired in the prison through the prison reformation programmes. They displayed the shoes and other items the produced.