PORT HARCOURT — Imagine a scenario where inmates of a Federal Prisons are carrying placards, protesting their degrading and dehumanizing conditions. This situation may soon be witnessed at the Nigeria Prisons in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Already, the inmates are making a verbal protest - a verbal placard, carried in the mouths of those behind bars. These placards do not appeal to the eyes, they appeal to the ears and appear more effective. Hours or days after you’ve left the vicinity of that federal dungeon, you still hear echoes of those lamentations from those wailers in that prison house.
Imagine another scenario: A big house is built with its back facing a very busy road. On the opposite side of the road are a stadium, a school, a hotel and an airport, all facing the back of this big house that is across the road. And this big house is facing its own backyard. People living in this big house, live behind bars with eighty or ninety cramped into one room. Oftentimes, they would hear shouts from cheering spectators at a football match. That is if they are able to discern it is a football match.
Almost everyday, they hear the sound of music blaring from the hotel and they also hear the sound of aircraft as they land and take off. Often, they hear the buzzing of the market place and the voices of school children at play or hear them singing at the assembly line in the mornings. The pain they feel that they are not part of the activities outside the confines of that bleak big house deepens with each passing day especially as they are not sure whether they would ever leave that house that has its back to the rest of the world.
In fact, some of those living in that house of bondage are condemned to die by hanging; some are there for life; some were put there by the police and have spent ten or twelve years inside that curious building awaiting trial.
Imagine a third scenario: In each of the above categories some of the inmates are innocent! This again is a picture of the Federal Prison in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Some say they are innocent and that they don’t understand why they were put there and they are what the English man would describe as bitter, angry and depressed. Some have already died. As you enter the Nigeria Prisons in Port Harcourt, you see a row of houses, but it’s the back of the buildings you are beholding.
So it was Tuesday when the Internal Affairs Minister, Alhaji Saidu Samalia, along with his entourage visited the prison. You soon find out that the buildings where you have most of the inmates are built around a field. When the inmates look through the iron bars from their cells, what they see is a field and fellow inmates inhabiting the opposite row of buildings at the other side of the field. This is their view day in day out, year in year out and this has been so for some of them for ten to fourteen years. Many of them have sad tales to tell. As Alhaji Saidu Samalia moves around listening to the grievances of the inmates he responds thus: “That’s why we are here. I’ll inform the President. We will see to it that there is speedy trial.”
An unconvicted prisoner, Mr. Azobodo Oliver from Ikwerre land in Rivers State has this to say: “Since 1999, I dey here. No legal help. I dey here dey suffer. No court. I no dey go court. Dem never try my case. No help. I no commit anything. Police just pick me. Only me. I don’t have a complainant.”
Another, whose name is Ferdinand Wariboko from Rivers State said: “You see, I don’t know how they involved me in this robbery case that they are now suspecting me for. Actually, I had a problem with my senior brother. After the death of our father, he left some items for us. But now when I wanted to collect my own part, my senior brother now framed a charge of robbery against me and dumped me in this place for the past five years. Since five years, I have never one day seen any judge with my eye, neither my complainant, neither who I am making a case with. No adjournment, no going to court. I have been in prison, suffering for nothing.”
For Saliu Ibrahim, another unconvicted inmate from Auchi in Edo State, “we dey here since 1999. And some people dey here more than 15 years now. Dem no carry us go court one day. Moreover, many people like big men like this dey come promise us say we go go to court, we go go to court and since 1999 when I come here, nothing like that say dem come carry us go court one day. And dey always come and promise us say we go go court. Even C.J sef. C.J dey come here. Some people here commit offence, some people no commit offence.”
Another who claimed to be 35 years old told Vanguard that “I have been here for many years. I am here for twelve years. Even my case-mates, they are all dead. Na only me remain here.” Asked his offence, he said, “They give me armed robbery. Alleged case na dem allege me.” Asked again if he had been convicted, he answered: “For where na? I am already tired. I don’t see my lawyer, nobody. I dey here for twelve years. I no dey go court. (I have not been taken to court). Dey only allege me,” he added.
The minister who was visibly shaken assured them over and over again that, “that’s why we are here. You and I are the same. I mean I am a Nigerian like you. We will see what we can do."
"We have problems…” began another inmate. “I know,” said the minister. “All of us have families.” “I know,” the minister said again. “The police will just arrest somebody and give them armed robbery case. The man who even did nothing is here with us suffering,” said an inmate whose words gave an indication that he must have done “something.”
Another inmate began: “I am a student of the University of Port Harcourt. I am in the Faculty of Humanities in the Department of Philosophy. My name is Esimaje. I was coming from the examination hall when police came and raided the area, arrested us and took us to Rumuokoro Police station. They did not tell me what I did. Then they landed me here and they did not tell me what I did. And the funny thing, they didn’t even see anything in me. I do not even know what I am doing here. I was brought here last year July 23rd.”
For Rotimi Samuel, “I am from Ondo State. I have stayed here since 1999. It was the O.P. Flush that came to where we were staying. They took me to S.I.B.” He then went ahead and explained what he meant by Operation Flush by saying “Operation Flush, those army people. They took me to their base. After one week, they took me to S.I.B. Since then, S.I.B did not go into any investigation –– no further investigation,” he added and continued “they only said I am a robber. And brought me here without seeing any arm, without seeing any exhibit and even the complainant that complained did not come to identify me that I robbed him. Since 1999, I have been here. I have missed my school, missed everything I am supposed to achieve in life. On and on, the inmates poured out loads of complaints that try men’s hearts.
One hopes that the Internal Affairs Minister, Alhaji Saidu Samalia would inform the President and other relevant authorities about the horrible internal affairs of those unfortunate prisoners so as to intervene and save those fellow Nigerians from their unspeakable agony.
