The Kano State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, has said that 70 percent of inmates are awaiting trial across the custodial centres in the state.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SC Musbahu Lawan, made this disclosure while addressing newsmen at the State Headquarters on Monday in Kano.
According to him, overcrowding was a challenge to the smooth operation of the NCoS in the state, as the number of awaiting trial inmates had tripled that of convicted inmates in the state.
“Statistics show that only 30 percent of inmates are convicted in the correctional service while inmates awaiting trial constitute 70 per cent of the total number of inmates in the state.
“Most of the inmates awaiting trial have stayed in custody with their cases yet to be determined by the courts.
“Our laws give us the power to transfer convicted inmates to any facility in the country, so if the inmates awaiting trial are eventually convicted there won’t be congestion,” Lawan said.
He explained that convicted inmates were easier to manage as they were mandated to engage in the various reformatory programmes, an opportunity which awaiting trial persons might not have.
