•Arraigned malnourished teenagers in court yesterday
There are concerns that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) custodial centre in Kuje, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) does not have the borstal facility to accommodate the underage hunger protest defendants as ordered by the court.
Following the bail granted to the 76 defendants yesterday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu also ordered the remand of the minors in a borstal facility at the Kuje centre while the others are to be held in regular cells pending the fulfilment of the bail terms, reports Daily Trust.a
However, indications from officials of the NCoS in Kuje while still at the Abuja Federal High Court indicate that the facility is not available at the centre.
A representative of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Vincent Otaokpukpu, expressed disappointment with the information, stating, “I am going to include that in my report that this facility is not available as ordered by the court.”
Reacting to the development, a professor of law and criminal justice reform expert, Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), said the absence of the facility could mean the minors would be held in the same facility as adults with unpleasant effects.
He said it was necessary to quickly return to the court for proper applications or create a temporary borstal facility to accommodate the minors pending perfection of their bail.
“This is a call on the Minister of Interior and the correctional authorities to quickly ensure that a borstal facility is established at the Kuje correctional centre,” he said.
