300 inmates in Kano prison incarcerated without records – CP

The Solicitors Scheme Advisory Committee set up by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, has uncovered over 300 awaiting trial inmates languishing in Kurmawa Custodial Centre, Kano, without proper documentation of their cases.

The committee made the discovery on Wednesday in continuation of its unscheduled visits to custodial centres, police formations, and juvenile homes.

The body is headed by Kano State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Hussaini Gumel.

Its mandate is to investigate cases of human rights violations by people in criminal and civil cases.

Addressing newsmen after the visit, Gumel said their task was to identify such cases, document them, and forward them to relevant authorities for appropriate action.

Presenting some sets of inmates who have been awaiting trial for years at Kurmawa Custodial Centre, an officer in the prison yard revealed that most of them had no case diary or even any criminal record before their incarceration.

He added that some have no specific courts they would be charged to and no records of their cases, yet they have been in custody for many years.

Others, he said, were left in prison because they couldn’t afford legal representation.

An inmate, Ibrahim Dala, said he was accused of culpable homicide but has not been taken to court since his incarceration in 2009.

Yahya Usman, another inmate, said the last time he was taken to court was in 2017, adding that right now he doesn’t know his fate.

Gumel, however, assured that the affected inmates would get justice soon.