The Economist's Spotlight on the Problem of Pretrial Detention in Nigeria
Around the world, the misuse of pretrial detention, the time period defendants are incarcerated between arrest and trial) is massive. In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the overuse of pretrial detention, most of it arbitrary and excessive, has reached “crushing proportions.” Of the 1,000 inmates in Nigeria’s Kiriki Maximum Security Prison, a total of 639 have not been convicted and are awaiting trial. Kayode Yukubu is among them. He was arrested in 2003. After twelve years as Kiriki’s longest-serving inmate, no court trial date has yet been set for him. He is among approximately 70 percent of Nigeria’s 56,785 pre-trial detainees who have not been sentenced, many of whom already have spent far longer time behind bars than the maximum period of the sentence for their alleged crimes. (Pretrial detention is intended to ensure an accused person will appear in court or pose a danger to others, not to punish or rehabilitate.) The Economist spotlighted Nigeria’s pr...