Prison Decongestion in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects

The right to liberty is sacrosanct. In Nigeria, and in Africa generally, however, it is not uncommon for civil rights to be curtailed and even violated by law enforcement agencies under the guise of enforcing the law. This has led to the incarceration of citizens without due process. In many cases, the safeguards to liberty have been observed more in the breach than in compliance due to factors peculiar to the administration of national criminal justice systems. Prison Decongestion in Nigeria aims to discuss remand proceedings, the initial prevalence of the holding charge, and the new order, enshrined in Nigeria by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and other relevant laws. A specialist and practitioner in Nigerian law, distinguished legal scholar Confidence Mbang argues that strict compliance with established procedure will reduce or eliminate civil rights violations in his country.