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How We Keep Male Personnel from Female Prisoners - Nigeria Prisons Reveals
Posted by Odinaka on Wed 27th Apr, 2016 - tori.ngWhile reacting to a recent report on human rights abuses by security agencies released by the United States Department of States, Nigerian Prisons spokesman has spoken on how it keeps male personnel from female prisoners.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, Francis Enobore, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), has said that none of the male personnel of the Service across the country had access to any female inmates.
The spokesman who was reacting to a recent report on human rights abuses by security agencies released by the United States Department of States, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, said that there was no prison facility in the country for female inmates manned by any male personnel.
The report had indicted officials of the NPS of various abuses, including rape of female prisoners under its custody.
He told NAN, "We may have a large prison for both males and females, but inside the large yard, we have another session carved out and walled with high fence, where the female inmates are kept.
"That particular yard is entirely manned by female personnel. No male, whether staff or inmates are allowed to go near the gate, not to talk of gaining access into the yard itself.
"Also, the officer of the entire yard cannot access that gate without an escort and in such situations, the female inmates are alerted by the chief wardress in broad daylight.
"A male personnel can never access that place in the night. However, where it becomes expedient for male personnel to access the female yard, it must be only when there is an emergency.
"For instance, where an inmate is about to give birth, the medical doctor is called upon by the officer in-charge who would be usually assisted by female personnel to take such a person to the hospital."
The PRO noted that he found it rather difficult to understand a report making the rounds that something funny goes on between female inmates and male personnel. "How does it happen, where would you have that opportunity, these are some questions we need to ask ourselves," he said.
Reacting to questions on how and why pregnant inmates were detained by the NPS, Enobore explained that the NPS had no authority to detain anybody.
"It is the exclusive right of court of competent jurisdiction to issue warrant of remand for anybody to be detained in the prison.
"If a court of competent jurisdiction asks that a pregnant person be kept in prison custody, no prison officer would reject that warrant on the ground that the person concerned is pregnant.
"You may also want to know how come female inmates with pregnancy, yes, you know anybody can be caught by the law at any point in time.
"If a pregnant woman is found to have committed any offence that warrants presenting that individual before court and the court says she should be remanded in prison custody, she comes in with her pregnancy.
"Let me make this very clear. Sometimes, some of these female inmates when they come to the prison, some of them do not even know that they are pregnant.
"What we have tried to do over the years is to carry out pregnancy test for the inmates as soon as they come in, so as to make them aware of their medical condition," he said.
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