Stakeholders Set Up Tripartite Committee to Tackle Prison Overcrowding, Speed Up Justice for Detainees
In a major push to address the alarming number of inmates languishing in Nigerian prisons without trial, three key government institutions have inaugurated a tripartite committee aimed at improving access to justice and strengthening legal support for indigent detainees.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACON), and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) formally established the Joint Committee on Collaborative Initiatives and Dialogue Platform during an inauguration held at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
Speaking at the event, NHRC Executive Secretary Dr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN) said the initiative was born out of deep concern over the increasing number of individuals held in correctional centres for years without trial, many of whom have already spent more time in custody than the sentences they would have received if convicted.
“All inmates are entitled to adequate legal representation, regardless of poverty, indigence, or systemic delays,” Ojukwu stressed. “We can no longer ignore the backlog and constitutional violations taking place.”
He lamented that in many cases, suspects are arrested before any proper investigation is conducted, violating the constitutional mandate to bring a detainee before a court within 48 hours.
“The correctional system has become a holding ground for victims of a broken justice process,” he added. “We need seamless cooperation between our institutions to change this reality.”
The key roles of the Committee reflect a collaborative model based on the specialty of each namely:
NHRC will monitor rights violations, publish findings, and ensure compliance with national and international human rights standards.
LACON will provide free legal representation for indigent inmates, most of whom have no access to legal counsel.
NCoS will facilitate access to inmates and improve institutional cooperation for court attendance and legal processing.
The committee includes senior officials from each of the three institutions. From the NCoS: Mr. Julius O. Osemwegie (Controller of Corrections), Mrs. Okibe Agbenu (Chief Superintendent of Corrections), and Mr. Lawrence Bassey Esq. (Superintendent of Corrections).
Officers from LACON include; Barr. Dauda Hassan (Director, Civil Justice), Mr. Oliver Chukwuma (HOD, Correctional Centre Decongestion), and Chiroma Ibrahim Ahmed (SA to DG, Chief Legal Aid).
While the members of NHRC in the Committee are: Benedict Agu (Head, Monitoring Dept.), Halilu Adamu Esq. (Director, Civil and Political Rights), and Kabiru Elayo (Head, National Preventive Mechanism).
Representing the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, ACG L.C. Cyprus hailed the committee’s formation as “the dawn of a new era.”
“This goes beyond institutional alignment. It’s about shared values, human dignity, due process, and justice,” he said.
Similarly, Aliyu B. Abubakar, Director-General of LACON, emphasized the council’s readiness to provide legal aid to those who cannot afford it.
“This committee is a lifeline for the voiceless, millions who remain incarcerated simply because they cannot pay for a lawyer,” he said. “Some inmates have spent up to 10 years awaiting trial. That’s not justice. It’s institutional punishment.”
The tripartite committee’s formation underscores Nigeria’s growing recognition of systemic failures in its criminal justice system. By combining human rights oversight, legal aid, and correctional coordination, the initiative aims to ensure that no Nigerian remains in custody longer than the law allows or without the legal support they are entitled to.
It is the hope that this collaboration will become a blueprint for future reforms, institutional accountability, and, most importantly, the restoration of justice to those who have been denied it for too long.
