The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says over 65 per cent of inmates are currently awaiting trial in correctional centers across the country.

Afam Osigwe, president of the NBA, revealed this at the national executive council meeting of the association in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday.

Mr Osigwe noted that the situation has led to the congestion of prison facilities nationwide, lamenting that delays in the trial of inmates were becoming an abuse of their rights.

“We should focus on pre-trial detainees because people who are in court awaiting trials. And they make up over 65 percent of the prison population.

“We worry about those who are simply remanded in prison facilities without having their cases tried, or their case taking an intolerable length of time to come to conclusion, on account of one delay or the other.

“They are sometimes serving more time in prison than they would if the court has convicted them, or even acquiring one disease or the other in prison, or even dying,” the NBA president said.

According to Mr Osigwe, the association had already mandated its Human Rights Committee to work with the chief judges of the states to visit correctional centers and assess the inmates.

While noting that the committee would advise the chief judges to release defendants who were not prosecuted, the NBA president said it would give inmates an opportunity not to spend unnecessary time in prison detention.

“The Chief Judges should also give a directive to all magistrates that if you give a remand order, you must give a return date for a review.

“If the prosecution, Ministry of Justice, fails to file a charge, that they should order the release of such persons so that people do not spend time in prison detention without being charged to court.

“They should ensure that the courts, in line with provisions of the Police Act and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, will visit detention facilities, whether of the police, of the army, of the DSS, of the NDLEA, to check the length of time people have been detained there,” he said.

He further noted that people should be released on bail, be charged to court, or be released entirely, stressing that the NBA was embarking on advocacy to ensure the law is upheld and to avoid the ugly situation in various detention facilities.

“The bar is getting this engagement to ensure that people who have no reason being in detention are released, and that people do not spend a long time in detention without a charge being filed against them.”

Earlier, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, in his speech, said the NBA stands as the preeminent professional body for lawyers in Nigeria, playing a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s legal and democratic framework.

Mr Aiyedatiwa, who was represented by the attorney general and commissioner for justice in the state, Kayode Ajulo, also noted that the NBA has consistently championed the cause of judicial independence, the protection of human rights, and the accountability of governmental institutions.

He added that it was an opportunity to rejuvenate the professional camaraderie that binds legal practitioners and advocates for justice together.

“It is a time for introspection, decisive action, and a renewed commitment to the principles that have long guided our noble profession: justice, fairness, and the steadfast pursuit of the rule of law,” he said.