Executive director and CEO of Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Lucy James Abagi, has hailed the chief judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf, for championing non-custodial sentencing and discouraging prolonged adjournments, stating that justice must be humane.
Abagi stated this during a visit to the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre in Niger State on Thursday when she participated in a bail delivery exercise.
She used the occasion to call for the establishment of mental health centres to help educate Nigerians and tackle the rising cases of gender-based violence, especially against women and minors.
“We need to set up, if necessary, mental centres for more citizens to be educated against these kinds of crimes,” she told LEADERSHIP Weekend.
Abagi expressed concern with the increasing number of abuse cases involving minors, including one involving a three-year-old child.
She said while the Violence Against Persons (VAP) Act provides strong legal protections, more effort was needed to raise public awareness.
During the bail exercise led by the chief justice of the FCT, over 150 cases were reviewed, with more than 20 inmates, many of them women, discharged. One woman’s sentence was also reduced.
“We are excited this exercise is happening,” said Abagi.
Asked whether the PPDC paid any bail fines, Abagi noted that no funds were needed in the Suleja prison.
Abagi urged other Nigerian states to replicate the FCT’s approach in addressing prison congestion. She emphasised that many inmates are held for offences that could be resolved through less severe means.
“In one case involving N50,000, the judge observed that the amount had already been spent on the inmate’s upkeep in a single day,” Abahi added.
Meanwhile, as part of activities to reduce prison congestion, PPDC last week, paid N800,000 to secure release of inmates at the Kuje prison, in Kuje Area Council of Abuja.
The exercise is part of PPDC’s ongoing access to justice initiative in collaboration with the FCT chief justice. The exercise is a vital part of PPDC commitment to ending prolonged pre-trial detention and ensuring timely, equitable justice for all.
At the Kuje prison last week, LEADERSHIP Weekend reports that three people were released and PPDC paid for one person to the tune of N800,000 fine as compensation.
