Detention facilities overcrowded as JUSUN strike continues.

The Nigeria Police Force has lamented that the strike embarked on by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria has caused overcrowding in their detention facilities around the country.

Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria has embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike last Tuesday, demanding that the Federal and State governments grant financial autonomy to the Judiciary.

The strike has prevented the police and other law enforcement agencies from arraigning suspects in courts, which have remained shut since last week.

However, The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, had ordered commissioners of police to ensure that unnecessary arrests were avoided.

The Order was revealed to the Public by the Police Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba while speaking with The PUNCH on Monday.

He stated that the IGP also issued an internal directive to Police commissioners that persons who are qualified to go on bail are granted administrative bail without delay and also explore the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanism

He said, “Whenever the court system is paused, the police investigations processes suffer greatly. Our investigation processes also suffer based on the fact that certain orders, authorizations that are supposed to be processed from the court are either delayed or impossible to obtain.

“Consequently, the IG has already issued an internal directive to police commissioners and those heading specialized units to ensure that persons who are qualified to go on bail are granted administrative bail without delay.

“The IG also encouraged officers to explore the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to deal with cases that can be resolved using ADR without infringing on any law. He has also given express directive that conscious efforts should be made to decongest cells and avoid making frivolous arrests or arrests that are not very important in the advancement of the course of justice.”

The Spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Mr. Frank Enobore, said that In a way the Nigeria Correctional Service is not too affected, but the court being shut is sort of concern to them in that those who are supposed to for trial cannot go which in turn create tension for them because 95 percent of those that cause internal insurrection in the facilities are those awaiting trial.

His words: “In a way, we are not too affected because we are not seeing an influx of persons coming into the correctional centers but the irony is that we get more concerned when people are not leaving our facilities than when they are coming in.

“This is because if those who are to go to court cannot go, it will create tension. It means those who have the hope of leaving the correctional center will have to remain there till courts resume duty. It creates tension for us, it creates concern because when the yard is tensed up, anything can happen.

“If you look at the history of internal insurrection in our facilities all this while, I can say close to 95 percent of them are engineered by either those awaiting trial or those that are condemned to death. So, these are the areas we getting pressure. So, the courts being shut are of concern to us.”

The human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), also said, “The courts were on break for almost a year because of COVID-19 challenge. Now that the courts should resume in earnest and the strike, ordinary people are affected. For those who are in prison, their case would have to be adjourned sine die which is not good.

“So, we appeal to the state and federal government to address the demands of these workers.”

However the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has assured Nigerians that the strike will soon be called off.

Malami, who stated this on Monday in Sokoto while inaugurating state high court, explained that Federal Government had set up a committee with Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State as a member to resolve the crisis.