Port Harcourt – Mrs Jane-Frances Bianeyin, Coordinator, Nigeria Legal Aid Council in Rivers, has decried the state of Port Harcourt Prison, describing it as ”disgusting.”
She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt that the state the prison was `irritating.’
“It depresses me when I go there, let alone those that are living there (inmates).
“A prison built during the colonial era for 800 inmates is now housing over 3,000 inmates,” she said.
Bianeyin expressed regret that the government and Nigerians do not care about the state of prisons across the country.
She added that the nonchalant attitude of the people to the deplorable state of prisons was due to their perception of prisoners.
She said: “the public regard prisoners as enemies of the society.
“But within the prisons are children, underage children; some are there as a result of mass arrest; some may not even know why there are there.
“Some inmates had spent more than one year for very minor offences such theft of chicken.’’
The coordinator appealed to the relevant authorities to modernise prisons across the country in line with best global practice.
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She said that the authorities of the prisons could not be blamed for the poor conditions of prisoners, saying they were compelled to work with the tools available to them. (NAN)