A Professor of Law, Osaretin George Izevbuwa, has strongly criticized Nigeria’s criminal justice system, highlighting that over 52,000 inmates remain incarcerated awaiting trial while institutional failures continue to plague the nation’s correctional facilities.
Delivering the 27th inaugural lecture of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, titled Institutional Pathologies and Systemic Reforms: The Gatekeepers’ Role in the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria, the legal scholar argued that the country’s crisis stems not from a lack of legislation, but from a persistent failure to enforce existing legal safeguards and hold erring officials accountable.
Key Highlights of the Lecture:
- Staggering Awaiting-Trial Statistics: The academic pointed to data indicating that approximately 52,519 inmates—representing roughly 66 percent of the total prison population—are languishing in prolonged pre-trial detention.
- Interlinked Institutional Failures: Izevbuwa identified the police, prosecutors, the judiciary, and the Nigerian Correctional Service as interconnected gatekeepers whose systemic malfunctions mutually reinforce prison congestion and rights violations.
- Calls for Comprehensive Overhaul: To combat the crisis, the lecture advocated for robust independent police oversight, improved forensic investigative capabilities, the establishment of central fingerprint and DNA databases, and mandatory human rights training for law enforcement personnel.
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