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By Usman Abubakar
The Police Solicitors Duty Scheme Advisory Committee in Kano State has uncovered scores of inmates awaiting trial at the Kurmawa Correctional facility.
The inmates who were languishing in the custody were awaiting trial due to lack of legal Representatives, no case diary among others.
Speaking with newsmen after the visitation to the custody and other facilities, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel who headed the committee frowned at the situation.
CP Gumel who said the committee was set up by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, maintained that fundamental rights of citizens were not violated.
He however said the committee will come up with a report or document for onward submission to appropriate authorities for redressed.
According to him, “the advisory committee is borne out of the directive by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, to set up a committee that will advice the police on efficient justice delivery. And free legal services are extended to all detainees from point of arrest, detention as well as prosecution.
“We have started this way to tell the citizens that police in Kano State is a respecter of fundamental rights.
“Detention must be done with adequate reasons for such. Those that have sureties that can stand for them (arrested one) should come forward to apply except the offence is not bailable.
“We also touched on the aspect of juvenile or remand home, where we met underage children that are under detention not necessarily that they were prosecuted or taken enforcement agencies including Hisbah.
We saw them and those at the correctional facility and we have made our observation. As a committee, we are going to come up with a report and send to the stakeholders particularly the Kano State government, Chief Judge, and Ministry of Justice. And definitely, I know with this, in the next few weeks, there would be a turn around on the way Justice delivery is given to the people of the state.
“The change of turn around would be in terms of provision of best practices as well as extension of free legal services to the people who have reason to be under custody of police and other law enforcement agencies,” CP Gumel stated.
Earlier Speaking, an officer in the Prison yard, while presenting some set of inmates who are awaiting trial for years at the Kurmawa Custodial Center, revealed that most of them have no case diary’s, have no specific Courts they are going to while others are having Capital Offences but their cases are before a Lower Courts that can’t hear or prosecute the cases.