Pralarg Ondo State visit to Ondo Female Custodial Centre Ondo State Nigeria.

pralarg
April 26, 2022

REPORT ON THE OFFICIAL VISITATION OF PRALARG INTERNATIONAL TEAM TO THE ONDO FEMALE CUSTODIAL CENTRE, ONDO TOWN, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA HELD ON THE 26^th APRIL 2023

Introduction

The visit to the Ondo State Female Custodial Centre was sponsored by one of PRALARG International partners based in the Unites States of America, Abdul-Raman Anifowose.

Prisons Rehabilitation and Law Abiding Organization International (PRALARG INT’L) (Member, World Association of Non-governmental Organization, Member Global Legal Empowerment Network and a Partner of Amnesty International) is a non-governmental, non-religious, non-political and non-ethnic/cultural human rights advocacy organization with a view to enhance respect for the rule of law, promote good practice, investigate and expose perceived human right breach. PRALARG Int’l is devoted to the reduction of people into prisons, rehabilitation of prisons’ inmates and reduction of crimes through the promotion of good moral values, using various strategies. These include Prisons Rehabilitation, Civic and Moral Education, as well as Public Enlightenment programme about criminal cases in Nigeria.

The areas of operation and intervention by PRALARG International include but not limited to: Human Rights Protection, PRISONS REHABILITATION, Civic Education care and Empowerment, Advocacy and Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation

It is in view of the above that PRALARG International, Ondo State Chapter, decided to visit and extend its hands of welfarism to the only Female Correctional Centre in Ondo State. The centre has the capacity to accommodate eighty Inmates (80). As at the time we visited the Prison on the 26^th of April, 2023, It is occupied by forty-one Inmates (41) only. The description of the occupiers is as stated below:

Inmates Number of open out in a day is == 41
Inmates serving life sentence ==02
Inmates Awaiting trials =31
Inmates Taken to court == 03
Inmates With pregnancy ==01
Inmated with psychiatric problem ==01
Tnmates with Tuberculosis =01
Inmates whose parental whereabout could not be traced ==01
All inmates are christion except only one.

Some of the offences committed by the inmates are ranges from Receiving stolen property, Armed robbery, Child trafficking, Fraud, Stealing (receiving cash into accounts) to Illegal conversion of private property for personal use.

Problems encountered by inmates in meeting bail conditions as explained by the officers in charge include Bureaucracy of the judiciary, Improper investigation, Lack of counsel, Lack of fund to get counsel, Extortions by some lawyers etc.