This high rate of corruption directly affects citizens’ rights whenever they have any dealing with the Police especially where allegations of crime are involved.

Beyond the Police, the correctional centres in Nigeria are not spared in the effects of corruption in public institutions. The need for reforms in this sector cannot be overemphasized. Inmates’ welfare is seriously compromised as basic provisions for inmates are either lacking or diverted through a corrupt budgeting process. The result is that centres whicg are established for correction end up becoming places where hardened criminals are groomed.

In 2019, the Nigeria Correction Service Act was signed into law by the President. In addition to a change of nomenclature, there are other lofty provisions which if allow to take effect will engender some measure of reform in the centres. Alas, much has not changed. In a report on prison conditions in Nigeria by ARC foundation on www.ecoi.net references were made to studies carried out by researchers on the conditions in some Nigerian prisons. A part of the report states, ‘(p. 16) Ibrahim Danjuma, Rohaida Nordin & Mohd Munzil Muhamad (2018) Prisons’ condition and treatment of prisoners in Nigeria: towards genuine reformation of prisoners or a violation of prisoners’ rights, Commonwealth Law Bulletin, Volume 44, Issue 1 (10 January 2019) *…+ Structure of prisons The structures of most of the Nigerian prisons are antique and dilapidated, with disastrous sanitary conditions, and without adequate vocational or recreational facilities. 60 These may be related to the fact that most of the prisons were built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. For instance, Warri prison was built in 1805; Azare in 1816; Bauchi in 1820; Ningi in 1827; Misau in 1831; Degema in 1855; and Calabar in 1890.

61 Others were built in the early 20th century: Abeokuta old and Onitsha in 1900; Idah Prison and Arochukwu in 1901; Umuahia in 1902; Zaria in 1903; Bidah and Awka prisons in 1904; Benin and Kazaure in 1908; Pankshin, Agbo, Ubiaja, Ahoada in 1910; Owo and Aba in 1911; Ikot Abasi, Old Prison Kebbi and Biu prisons in 1912; Okigwe in 1913; Suleja, Illorin, Malumfashi and Yola prisons in 1914; Kaduna, Ankpa, Enugu and MPS Oji prisons in 1915.62 Amnesty International reported that many of them are in need of renovation, as the infrastructure is old, some buildings cannot longer be used and ceilings in some rooms are about to collapse.

63 Equally, a large number of prisons were constructed with mud bricks such as Azare, Suleja, Dekina and Koton Karfe prisons.64 (pp. 99-100) *…+ With regard to sanitation and cleanliness in most of the prisons visited by the NHRC [National Human Rights Commission], it was noted that the water storage tanks of the toilets are broken and there is no water to flush after use.78 In some prisons like Gassol, Serti, Misau, Otukpo, Pankshin, and Illorin, among others, a “bucket system” is used which creates lots of unpleasant smells in the cells, as reported by the NHRC.79 Whereas in other prisons, the NHRC observed that the sewage systems are either broken or filled up and the prisons lack basic toiletries like disinfectants and soap.80 In 2013, the United State Department of State Bureau of Democracy discovered that the lack of adequate water supply in some Nigerian prisons caused poor sanitary conditions.81 *…+ (pp. 101- 102)’.

This sad tale mirrors the situation in most correctional centres in Nigeria.