Falana Blames Insufficient Supreme Court Justice For Prison Congestion

Femi Falana (SAN)

Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Human Rights Activist has blamed the worsening prison congestion on insufficient justice at the supreme court.

Falana in a letter urged President Buhari to look into the recommendation by the Nationa Judiciary Council for the elevation of Adamu Jauro, Emmanuel A. Agim, Samuel C. Oseji, and Helen M. Ogunwumiju as Supreme Court justices.

He also revealed that the number of justices has reduced to 12 and away from the 21 stated by the constitution.

The letter reads in part: “The need to ratify and forward the names of these justices to the senate for confirmation becomes more crucial and urgent if viewed against the backdrop of the clamour for prison decongestion being championed by your excellency.

“Just last month, your excellency forwarded a letter to the chief justice of Nigeria requesting that measures be taken by the judiciary to decongest prisons and detention facilities across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“From the information at our disposal, one of the main causes of prison congestion is that the supreme court has not been able to hear and determine many criminal appeals due to lack of enough justices.

“We are persuaded that your excellency would be furthering the cause of prison decongestion by expeditiously ratifying the names recommended by the NJC and forward same to the senate for confirmation.

“In other words, the workload and the number of civil and criminal appeals pending at the supreme court would be significantly reduced if the four Justices are appointed without any further delay.

“While urging your excellency to promote the cause of justice by expeditiously ratifying the names recommended by the NJC and forward same to the senate for confirmation please accept the assurances of our highest esteem and professional regards.”

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