Located in the quiet, landlocked,
stony, ancient Idah, the headquarters of Igala Kingdom in Kogi State,
North-central Nigeria, Idah Prison built in 1901 by the British colonialists,
is unarguably the oldest existing prison in Nigeria. An outsider who sees the
prison’s high fence would begin to wonder if it has existed for that length of
time since it has the semblance of other prison fences across the country, but
that is the fence built by the Federal Government of Nigeria much later to give
the colonial prison a modern outlook. As you wade through the tight security at
the main gate, you find yourself inside a compound that serves as the front of
the administrative block which forms part of the modern fence.
Then, right in front of you is the
ancient building with all the attributes of an antiquity. Divided into two
wings of male and female sections and a kitchen standing in-between, there
appears a small and narrow entrance into the main prison compound, which is
made of a very thick and strong iron rod. A peep through the narrow gate
quickly brings into focus, inmates seated in clusters and chatting. The
impenetrable walls are made of stones and the roofing appears to have suffered
incalculable damage from weather elements, but they are still very solid
from all indications, although the zinc is rusty, an indication that they could
be leaking when it rains.
From the available records, there
were other prisons that were built before it, like the Marina Prison in Lagos,
but none of them are in existence today. The Marina Prison has been
collapsed into the Ikoyi Prison and the Maximum and Minimum
Security Prisons, Kirikiri, all in Lagos State. Like the Gibraltar rock, Idah
Prison still stands tall and strong, with the ability, from every available
evidence, to survive the next 40 years or more without a crack on its walls.
Built with stones, the 102 capacity prisons is still a wonder to behold. As one
of the prison officers described it, “it is a prison within prison.” This is
because, the old prison edifice of 1901 is enveloped by a modern fence, which
is what the outsiders see but right inside the enclave of the modern facility
is the antiquated, stone house that has withstood the atmospheric elements for
over a century.
It’s no longer news that most
Nigerian prisons are overcrowded and in deplorable conditions. Such stories are
stale and most of the prisons in these deplorable and inhuman states were built
shortly before independence in 1960 or even after. But, here is a prison built
long before the amalgamation in 1914; even before the country assumed the name,
Nigeria; still standing and holding prisoners.
Our correspondent was there to have
a firsthand assessment of the prison and see what makes it tick and the
findings were quite revealing. Contrary to the common malaise of overcrowding
experienced in most Nigerian prisons, Idah Prison is grossly under-utilized.
The ancient prison, which was built with the capacity to house 102 inmates,
only has 37 inmates currently enjoying the ambience of the headquarters of the
Igala kingdom, when their counterparts in other prisons are contending with
congestion.
A prison officer who volunteered to
comment on the under-utilization of the prison said: “The prison was
built with an accommodation capacity of 102 inmates but we currently have 37
inmates. These 37 inmates comprise convicts and those awaiting trials or
un-convicted persons. Substantially, the inmates are from Kogi State vicinity;
I mean indigenes of Kogi State. We are not suffering any congestion as other
prisons in other areas in Nigeria.”
A breakdown of the inmates shows
that 12 persons have been convicted while the remaining 25 persons are
awaiting trial. Of the 12 convicted prisoners, four persons are serving long
jail terms while the remaining eight are on short term jail sentences.
No comments:
Post a Comment