Correctional Centers: Lagos to decongest prisons by plea bargain
By Moses Adeniyi
The Lagos State Government has chosen to employ the instituting of plea bargain processes as a strategy to decongest overcrowding of prisons in the State; Nigerian NewsDirect has gathered.
Report gathered revealed that the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, will be commencing a visit to the Ikoyi Maximum Security Prison, Apapa, Lagos, in the coming days of this month in a bid to sensitise prisoners who are eligible to the process.
The Attorney General who spoke during the ongoing Ministerial Briefing at the State Capital, Ikeja, to commemorate the second year of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Administration in office, mentioned that given that plea bargain is a process which is meant to be applied for by defendants and inmates in this regard, he will be leading a legal team of the State Government to correctional centres and magistrates to sensitise prisoners.
Disclosing that there are presently 7,500 awaiting trial inmates in the State, he said it is important to take the advocacy to prison door steps to create awareness among inmates, adding that beyond prisoners, stronger public enlightenment will be embarked upon in the coming days to sensitise Magistrates, defence counsels, among other legal practitioners in the State.
He mentioned that the legal process which is meant to temper Justice with leniency, will give opportunities to repentant in-mates who have plead guilty to their crimes to get lesser punishment such as reduction in the period of jail term, among other options, on meeting certain conditions.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Justice has recovered over ₦67 million for indigent residents who had different cases in court in the Last one year.
Onigbanjo, who made the disclosure during the Ministry’s annual press briefing on Wednesday, said the sum of N67.3 million that was recovered has been handed to the residents.
Attorney General while rendering an account of the Ministry’s activities between April 2020 and April 2021, said the government’s Office of Public Defender (OPD) won 82 of its cases, with 39 against its position.
The commissioner said OPD also secured the release of 198 #EndSARS protesters who were arrested by security operatives.
Onigbanjo who noted that the inmates were defended in court hearings by government lawyers from the OPD, disclosed that some of the cases were resolved through the plea bargain option.
The Senior Advocate noted that the ministry’s Citizen Mediation Centre (CMC) resolved 9,686 cases out of 12,358 within the year under review.
Onigbanjo said CMC recently aided the restoration of a family to their apartment after being locked out by the aggrieved landlord for 18 days.
He said the state government will continue to evolve in its resolve to promote speeding dispensation of justice which birthed the introduction of Telephone mediation.
The commissioner listed other achievements in quick justice delivery to also include the introduction of Virtual Court Sitting, initiated by the State in Nigeria.
According to him, the state judiciary has treated about 490 cases through virtual hearing for judgments and rulings.
