Addressing pre-trial detention in Nigeria via Police duty solicitors scheme

By Jacinta Nwachukwu

It is no longer news that thousands of detainees are languishing in police cells due to delay in dispensation of justice.

Reports have it that some of these detainees have spent about six to eight months in police cells at different stations.

Against this backdrop, the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), a Non-Governmental Organisation has trained about 50 police duty solicitors across five states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to aid the quick dispensation of justice in the police stations.

Mr Kenechukwu Agwu, Senior Programme Manager, PPDC, listed the states to include Adamawa, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and FCT.

Agwu said the Centre had 10 young lawyers in each of the states, adding that the crop of the lawyers includes those still undergoing National Youth Service programme and those who have had one or two years of experience at the bar.

He said in the last four months, the Centre had provided support to more than 3,537 Nigerians through our PDSS work.

According to him, the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme (PDSS), is a scheme where the Centre uses young lawyers and corps members stationed at the police stations to provide justice to Nigerians.

“At the moment, PPDC has deployed 50 lawyers to 50 police stations across five states in Nigeria.

“We have enjoyed the cooperation of the Nigerian Police Force, although not without initial glitches in the areas of spaces and desks for our lawyers to use and acceptance of the process by some officers.

“However, we have been able to trian our lawyers and also interface with the police officers to make them understand that the lawyers actually support the work they do,” he said.

He also explained that the training was designed to equip the duty solicitors with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to excel in their vital roles.

He said the essence of the initiative is to provide free legal representation and assistance to indigent suspects and reduce the number of detainees at the police stations.

He further said “if there is a lawyer at the police station the chances are that people’s rights will be less violated”.

He then advised Nigerians to know their rights, saying “it is when one does not know his/her rights and thinks that someone is doing him/her a favour that he gets into some issues’’.

“Some may be innocent but then find themselves in those situations, the presence of lawyers in those police stations will help to settle the issues.

“Our Access to Justice programme tackles pressing issues and fosters evidence-based solutions, promoting a more just and equitable society.

“Through targeted strategic initiatives, we are committed to enhancing the operational capabilities of these institutions, making justice delivery more efficient and equitable,” he said.

To also facilitate court proceedings in Nigeria, Agwu said that the Centre deployed speech-to-text devices to 58 courts in three of its project states.

He explained that the devices would enhance case management and court administration in the judicial sector.

The speech to text device enables the recognition and translation of spoken language into text and it is used for quick and efficient court proceedings, ensuring judges no longer write in longhand.

He said the gesture became necessary due to the fact that over 70 per cent of detainees in the custodial centres across the country were awaiting trials because of the long process in court administration.

“In Nigeria over 70 to 75 per cent of our detainees in our custodial centres, what we call prisons, are people, who are awaiting trials.

“People, whose trials have either not commenced or have commenced but have not been concluded,’’ Agwu said.

While the police are blamed, to a large extent, for delay in prosecution of suspects other variables such as the exorbitant cost and complex process of hiring laws to come play.

However, many Nigerians and suspects in particular are ignorant of options available to them.

Mr Bamidele Ibikunle, Technical Assistant to the Director-General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, said the duty of the lawyers is to provide free legal services to anybody that is invited into the police station or detained at the police station.

Ibikunle said the aim of the scheme is to help the criminal justice system by ensuring that the police interrogate and treat the suspect in accordance with the law.

“Again to ensure that suspects are not detained indefinitely and to ensure that due processes of law are followed in the course of investigation of the case.

“Also to ensure that suspects are either released on bail, on time or charged to court within the required time as provided by the law.

“In the actual sense bail is supposed to be free but you see in any organisation you still see some unscrupulous ones who will insist that you drop something.

“But the problem lies with us Nigerians as individuals, we are not patient and we are not good in following due processes of law,’’ he stressed.

He said that most people when they are arrested and detained; they want to get out at all cost.

“Sometimes it is even the clients that mount pressure on the police to release them at any cost.

Ibikunle restated that the major challenge Nigerians have is ignorance of their rights.

Another factor is poor knowledge of the workings of the law and their rights on the side of suspects.

This makes it difficult to insist on respect of the rights such as detention without prosecution beyond legally permitted period of time and the fact that bail is free.

Mrs Ogechi Ogu, the Executive Director, Public Awareness on Rights and Rehabilitation of Vulnerable Persons Initiative, says more should be done to education Nigerians on their fundamental human rights.

“I believe that we have a lot of good laws that if implemented things will get better. But most importantly, our people do not seem to know their rights.

“There are a lot in the laws that protect the people but when they are not aware of these rights, it becomes an issue because if they are aware, they can stand firm on their rights”.

Ogu suggested that for better dispensation of justice at the police station some of the laws like the criminal codes and the penal code should be reconsidered.

“Some offenses that were of colonial origin, that do not have business with present time are being used by some law enforcement agents to arrest people and take them into custody,” she says.

She condemned the idea of people being kept in police custody for months without trial, saying that this contributes to the inflow of detainees into the correctional centres.

To address wrong dispensation of justice towards detainees at the police station, there is need for the Federal Government to match words with action in ensuring that no suspect is detained beyond legally-stipulated period.

Given that in many instances the detainee is at the mercy of the police, it is imperative that those responsible for breaking the law regarding detention of suspects are brought to justice.

It is also advised that organisation such as Legal Aid Council should regularly visit police stations where thousands are yearning for their attention with a view to attending to their legal needs.

(NANFeatures)