Inspector Godwin Ato, a police prosecutor, has decried the poor state of Benue remand Home in the Gboko Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

Mr Ato, who spoke to journalists on Sunday in Makurdi, said the remand home is in a sorry state.

He said that the last time he visited the home, the buildings were delapidated and surrounded by cassava farms.

“The roofs of all the buildings in the remand home have removed, and the place is not habitable for human beings.

“In fact, the home for the children is nothing to write home about as the place is just surrounded by bushes and cassava farms,” Mr Ato explained.

Speaking on how the children were coping with the situation there, the prosecutor said, “There are normally few children, numbering about three to five, in the home.

“The woman in charge just takes them as her children and manages with them in a small space there.”

According to Mr Ato, the children do not receive any skills training and only go to the farm.

The prosecutor, however, stated that the juvenile offenders were always given short adjournment dates to enable them to post bail early.

He also said those convicted were always given the option of a fine so that they would not have to stay and serve jail terms at the remand home.

All efforts to reach the Benue High Court Chief Registrar, Franca Ayua, responsible for trying juvenile offenders, proved abortive.

(NAN)