A total of 100 mentally challenged inmates and 71 juveniles are currently in different prisons across Lagos State, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem has said.
He said this yesterday at the presentation of the Lagos State Criminal Information System (LCIS), in Alausa, Lagos.
“This information essentially, is to aid the implementation of reforms in the justice system. Consequently, the project has become pivotal in the administration of Criminal justice in Lagos, as exhibited, especially in recent discoveries and revelations from the data capturing exercise at the prisons. A major dynamics is its capacity to assist in planning and statistics purposes.
“The Audit and census taken in the prison in its first Phase revealed some astonishing facts ranging from number of Awaiting Trial inmates in the prisons, to the current grossly overstretched prison capacity.
“Most outrageous is the disparity in the maximum capacity of prisons in Lagos viz a viz the actual number of inmates presently in those prisons. The total capacity of all the prisons in Lagos State is 4,087 but it is currently accommodating 8,500 inmates.
“Under normal circumstances, juveniles are not meant to be incarcerated with adults. But what the LCIS has revealed so far has been rather shameful. Juveniles and under aged inmates amounting to about 71 are presently in custody of the prisons, interacting with criminals,” the commissioner said.
