The Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI), a civil society organisation, says pretrial detention has resulted in overcrowding at the correctional centres across Nigeria.
The organization said 75 percent of inmates in the country are pretrial detainees.
Professor Ernest Ojukwu, President, NULAI, disclosed this at an event tagged ‘Reforming Pretrial Detention in Nigeria (RPDN): Project Retrospective Outlook Close -out Session’ organised in Abuja on Thursday.
Ojukwu, who was represented by Executive Director of NULAI, Mukhtar Nasiru, said: “The figure in Nigeria is 75% cent and it has been consistent. What I mean by 75% is that for every 100 people in the correctional centre, 75% of them are pretrial detainees.
“This means that their cases have not been decided. They’ve not been convicted. Only 25% have been convicted.”
He said NULAI had resolved about 1,400 pretrial detention cases in the Federal Capital Territory and Keffi, Nasarawa State, in five years.
“Over 500 law students have been able to support pro bono lawyers to intervene in pre-trial detention cases and over 1,400 cases have been resolved,” he stated.
