Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF), also known as Lawyers Without Borders, has lamented the growing number of Nigerians held in prison for years without trial.
The organisation said it was, specifically, concerned that a lot of Nigerians have spent eight to 13 years in prison without trial, noting that it rescued about eight of such people from Kirikiri Prison, Lagos State.
In a report it issued to mark end of the Severe Human Rights Violations in Nigeria (SAFE) intervention, which it launched in Abuja, since 2019, the group said it was equally worried about the increasing cases of torture and extra-judicial killings in the country.
The project is being implemented in Nigeria by ASF France, in partnership with Nigerian Bar Association, the Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation, and European Union.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, yesterday, Head of Office of ASF France (in Nigeria), Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, lamented that despite promulgation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in 2015, security agencies have continued to use torture as a strategy to extract extra-judicial statements from suspects.
In a report it issued to mark end of the Severe Human Rights Violations in Nigeria (SAFE) intervention, which it launched in Abuja, since 2019, the group said it was equally worried about the increasing cases of torture and extra-judicial killings in the country.
The project is being implemented in Nigeria by ASF France, in partnership with Nigerian Bar Association, the Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation, and European Union.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, yesterday, Head of Office of ASF France (in Nigeria), Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, lamented that despite promulgation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in 2015, security agencies have continued to use torture as a strategy to extract extra-judicial statements from suspects.
“On the project, 167 cases were identified for pro-bono legal aid, of which 120 were approved for litigation and 47 were approved for legal advice. These are cases of victims of torture, arbitrary detention and extra-judicial killings across the project states.
“We took charge of 267 cases of human rights violations across three states (Enugu, Kaduna and Lagos) and we have concluded about 40 cases, and more than 20 people have been released from custody. We, equally, filed three suits before the ECOWAS Court. We also secured the unconditional release of 23 persons that were arbitrarily detained.”
The Guardian, by Sodiq Omolaoye
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