Established in 1861, the Nigeria Prisons Service
was created to take into lawful custody all those
certified by courts of competent jurisdiction, to be
kept, produce in courts as and when due as well as
reform inmates who for one reason or the other find
themselves in custody.
was created to take into lawful custody all those
certified by courts of competent jurisdiction, to be
kept, produce in courts as and when due as well as
reform inmates who for one reason or the other find
themselves in custody.
Unfortunately, the rot and corrupt practices in the
Nigeria Prison Service are gradually defeating the
purpose of its establishment. Over the years, cases
of alleged extortion of inmates by warders, sale of
food items, rental of VIP cells to well-to-do
inmates, conversion of gift items donated by NGOs
and religious bodies, are some of the rot in the
system.
Crime Guard spoke to a 32-year-old Liberian simply
called Andre (surname withheld), who was released
from Medium Prison, Kirikiri, on Monday, June 27,
2016 after spending four months in prison custody
for car theft. Excerpts: “My trouble started
immediately I was handed over to the warder after
being taken to the court in Ikeja.
The warder asked me to pay N1000. I gave him the
N500 I had with me and my Investigation Police
Officer (IPO) gave him additional N500 as
transportation to the prison. As soon as I got to the
prison, I was taken to a cell called the
Welcome cell.”
Welcome cell It was a new experience for him, he
said, and added: “Inside the Welcome cell, I was
beaten by fellow inmates that night because I had
no money to pay for the cell fee, before I was taken
to the general cells.”
Inside the cells
Narrating his ordeal, Andre who studied computer
science and mathematics at the University of
Calabar, Cross River State, said that inside the
prison, they have special section for VIPs, where
inmates who have the resources pay between
N30,000 to N100,000 depending on how well
furnished the rooms are. Some of the VIP rooms,
according to findings, have fans and radio. Such
inmates, Crime Guard gathered, are allowed to use
mosquito nets, iPhones and iPads. Further findings
revealed that they also watch movies while the
general cells are for inmates who can’t afford the
VIP cells.
“In the general cells, we have about 65 to 75
inmates. The cells include H1, H2, H3 and H4,
while the VIP cells are C2, K4, New Building, Abia
House, built by a former governor of Abia State.
“Some of the inmates who are currently residing in
the VIP cells are Philip Osas who is facing charges
on armed robbery. He occupies K4 cell. Also, there
are one Kola and Ifeanyi who have been facing
robbery charges for six years. Ifeanyi was released
two weeks ago by a Lagos State High Court. One
Mr Akpan from Akwa Ibom State lives in C2 cell; he
has been there for the past two years.”
Extortion of inmates
According to him, “Each cell has a marshal who is
like the president in charge of the cell. Each
marshal buys the position from the warders and
generates revenue for the warders. “Warders usually
collect money from inmates to install them as
marshal. Marshals pay the warders money to enable
inmates cook in the cell. They pay money to
warders and also buy new inmates who are kept in
their cells like slaves.
‘Inmates are bought for between N500 to N1000’ “
These inmates are extorted by the marshals. During
the four months I spent, I paid twice to repair
federal vehicles that took us to court. I had to pay
for vehicle tyres to be bought. “If inmates don’t
contribute money for the repair of the vehicle or for
buying of tyres, they won’t be taken to court
especially for those whose cases are still awaiting
trial. “The last time, we were made to contribute
N350,000 from the 52 cells in the prison. The
headache before I left was that every week, cells
were made to contribute N1,300 which they use to
purchase diesel for generator. The generator was
bought by an ex-inmate who was released two
months ago. “He gave them money to buy diesel for
a year but unknown to the donor, we were being
extorted.
The chief warder informed us that the prison spends
about N750 to feed each inmate daily, but the
quality of food we are given cannot be served to a
village dog because it is poisonous. “For instance,
the soup for garri is made from grounded beans, no
salt, no pepper, and no oil. In prison language it is
called shapa. “The warders sell 75 per cent of the
food items to inmates who have money. These
inmates in turn resell the food stuff in retail
qualities to other inmates who don’t eat from the
daily food rations served in the prison.
Extortion at the clinic “
Another avenue where the warders extort inmates is
via the prison clinic. The doctors and nurses sell to
them, free drugs meant for sick inmates. There was
a time I wasn’t feeling too well, and I was forced to
purchase two sachets of Ampiclox from the clinic
for N500. Several inmates have died as a result of
improper medical care.
Improper medical care “
Each time our family members, friends or relatives
send recharge cards to us, the warders make
money. For instance, they give us N1000 for
N1,500 airtime and N600 for N1000 airtime. Some
of them even claim that the pin has been used after
they have recharged it. “Any attempt to ask about
the card will result in the inmate being taken to the
punishment cell called Angola and before release;
he would pay N5000 to the chief warder in charge
of the yard. Every money collected from the
inmates passes through this department. “Whenever
non-governmental organizations, NGOs, religious
groups or philanthropists bring gifts to the prison
for inmates’ upkeep, the gifts are seized by the
warders at the gate and thereafter, used by the
warders for personal use. They claim that visiting is
free but at the end of the day, they would collect
money from relatives to allow them have access to
us. Our relatives are forced to pay N1000 to be
allowed to see us. If a visiting relative gives an
inmate N1000, the warders will take N500 and give
the inmate N500.
Case of sodomy
“There was a case of a marshal in 03 cell who was
awaiting trial for rape and murder. He bought two
young men who had no prison experience. Every
night, he took turns To Molest these inmates. The
rape continued until the young inmates felt they had
had enough and so reported to the chief warder.
Surprisingly, no punishment was meted out to the
marshal. Neither was the young men taken out of
the cell. Luckily, he was released a few weeks later.
Denial
Reacting to the allegations, the Public Relation
Officer of Nigeria Prisons, Lagos State, Deputy
Superintendent of Prison, O.O Oladokun said, “I
appreciate the fact that you have made effort to
verify. Those claims are far from the truth. There is
no atom of truth in these allegations. No such thing
exists that is happening in the Kirikiri Medium
Prison.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/nigerian-
prison-inmates-pay-n30000-n100000-watch-
movies-use-iphones-ipads/
