Worried by the increasing number of foreign prisoners, the British government has announced a plan to build a new 112-bed annex in Kirikiri Maximum prison in Lagos, which will cost 700,000 pounds (N348.5 million) to help expedite the transfer of Nigerians from British jails.
This is in pursuant to a signed agreement in 2014 by the UK and Nigeria to allow Nigerians who commit crimes in the UK to serve their sentences in Nigeria.
In a written statement to parliament, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the move would help “improve the capacity” of the Nigerian prison service.
Although there is no indication of how many prisoners might be moved or when the project is likely to be completed the statement revealed the building will be paid for out of the government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, which provides development and security support to countries which are at risk of conflict or instability.
‘The provision of this assistance is in line with the government’s security and stability objectives in West Africa,” Johnson added in a written statement to Parliament.
Britain’s own prison system has been showing signs of severe strain in recent years, with overcrowding, rising suicide rates and a growing problem with drug trafficking and other crimes within jails that were sometimes built in the Victorian era.
At the end of 2016, there were just fewer than 10,000 foreign nationals within the UK prison population, 19 percent of which were from African countries.
A check at the British governments ministry of justice prisoners ‘statistics revealed there were 320 Nigerian prisoners in British jails at the end of 2016, accounting for 3 percent of the foreign prisoner population.
Under that deal, eligible prisoners serving criminal sentences in Nigeria and Britain can be returned to complete their sentences in their respective countries.
Despite the British government not indicating how many of the prisoners might be moved or when the project is likely to be completed, the UK decision to build a new wing highlights Nigeria prison service existing challenges.
According to most recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), there are 239 prisons across the country with a population of 68,686 with Lagos alone home to 7,396 prison inmates as against a prison capacity of 3,927.
The statistics showed that the total prison population grew by 5.6 percent in the period. Majority of inmates in prisons are awaiting trial and the most represented age category is the 26-50 years age group followed by the category of those above 51 years.
DAVID IBEMERE
