Members of Civil society organisations at A2J Forum in Abuja on Thursday
By Jacinta Nwachukwu
The Inmate Education Foundation (IEF), an NGO, has called on the Federal Government to consider subsidising examinations fees for Nigerian inmates to encourage much participation in NECO and WAEC examinations.
Ms Balikis Anoba, a Research Officer of the Foundation,made the call during the meeting of Civil Society Organisation Communication and Coordination Forum for Effective Intervention on Thursday in Abuja.
Anoba said that the Foundation was able to register about 150 inmates with N26, 000 per inmate for NECO examination.
“So far, we have impacted over 3,500 inmates across five states. We are in Lagos, Kano Osun, Oyo and Ebonyi.
“Also, in our course of providing education for inmates, we have been able to get examination forms this year for 150 inmates across Lagos and this forms cost N26,000 each.
“It is imperative for the government to do something about this, because they can not work for it, they are in there, they are confined somewhere.
“It is on the government to provide these services for them, if government cannot wave it for them, it can subsidise their cost,” she said.
On her part, Mrs Ogechi Ogu, the Executive Director, Public Awareness on Rights and Rehabilitation of Vulnerable Persons Initiative, said that Nigerians should be educated on their rights.
“I believe that we have a lot of good laws, that if we implement them, things will get better. But most importantly, our people do not seem to know their rights.
“There are a lot in the laws that protect the people but when they are not aware of these rights, it becomes an issue because if they are aware, they can stand firm on their rights.
“So one of the things that need to be done is to revisit some of our laws, like our criminal codes and the penal code, because they are still contained in those laws.
“Some offenses that were of colonial origin, that do not have business with present dispensation and some law enforcement agents capitalise on those laws to arrest people and take them into custody,” she said.
She she condemned the idea of people being kept in custody for months without trial, saying that this contributed to the inflow of detainees into the Correctional Centres.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Lucy Abagi, said that the meeting aimed to strengthen the collaboration and coordination among relevant civil society organizations in the FCT.
Represented by Fatima Musa, Programme Manager, PPDC, Abagi said that the Centre’s partnership with others would create a more structured, communicative and strategic approach to addressing issues on access to justice.
“As you may know, the work we do is crucial to upholding justice, human rights and the rule of law, the injustices faced by many, who are unfairly detained.
“This highlights the urgent need for reforms in our future detention processes. Through this partnership, we aim to create a more structured, communicative and strategic approach to addressing these issues.
“This meeting will provide opportunities for us to share success stories and lessons learned, as well as highlight the social political issues affecting our work in this critical space,” she said.