{"id":75532,"date":"2025-09-23T10:02:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T10:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=75532"},"modified":"2025-09-23T10:02:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T10:02:38","slug":"gombes-180-day-justice-deadline-sparks-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/09\/23\/gombes-180-day-justice-deadline-sparks-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Gombe\u2019s 180-Day Justice Deadline Sparks Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Merciful Omoba<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The newly posted Controller of the Correctional Service in Gombe State, Agada Felix-Audu, has declared that no suspect should spend more than 180 days awaiting trial before conviction or acquittal, a statement that has reignited debate over Nigeria\u2019s overcrowded prisons and sluggish justice system.<\/p>\n

Speaking during a familiarisation visit to the Secretary to the Government of Gombe State, Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar-Njodi, Felix-Audu said: \u201cWithin 180 days, a suspect awaiting trial must either be convicted or acquitted, no matter the crime committed.\u201d<\/p>\n

His call comes amid alarming statistics. According to the Nigerian Correctional Service, more than 53,000 of 81,000 inmates nationwide are awaiting trial, some for over five years on offences that carry a maximum sentence of two years.<\/p>\n

In Gombe\u2019s five custodial centres; Gombe, Nafada, Bajoga, Cham, and Billiri, the majority of inmates are in the same situation, their cases stalled by incomplete investigations, weak court infrastructure, and overburdened magistrates.<\/p>\n

Inmates describe dire conditions. Aisha, a female detainee, said: \u201cFor the time I spent there, I didn\u2019t eat rice with stew. The rice came in small quantities, it wouldn\u2019t satisfy even a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elijah, a former inmate, alleged that of \u20a68,000 deposited on admission, only \u20a63,000 was returned on release, while police demanded \u20a62,000 for court attendance.<\/p>\n

Others spoke of bug-infested mattresses, extortion over food, and families forced to pay \u20a6200 for entry forms during visits.<\/p>\n

The National Human Rights Commission confirmed widespread exploitation. \u201cIf an inmate has \u20a61,000 in custody, officials only release \u20a6500 and keep the rest,\u201d said Ndam Nanfa, Assistant Chief Admin Officer.<\/p>\n

She alleged that prosecutors also inflate fines and demand bribes, prolonging detention for poor suspects while the wealthy secure their freedom.<\/p>\n

While Nigeria\u2019s Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 already provide for timely trials and non-custodial sentencing, weak enforcement undermines these safeguards.<\/p>\n

Felix-Audu has suggested introducing a centralised database to synchronise police, prosecutorial, and correctional records.<\/p>\n

He also stressed the need for rehabilitation: \u201cSecurity goes beyond confinement. Rehabilitation, especially for those with minor offences, is essential to breaking the cycle of crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other African countries offer reform models: South Africa enforces strict bail timelines, Kenya uses case-tracking systems, and Ghana applies community service to ease congestion. But whether Nigeria can replicate such successes remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

Gombe Deputy Governor Manassah Jatau recently lamented the housing together of violent and non-violent offenders, underscoring the urgency of reform.<\/p>\n

For now, Felix-Audu\u2019s 180-day deadline stands as a bold challenge to a system where, for thousands of inmates, justice remains indefinitely delayed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Merciful Omoba   The newly posted Controller of the Correctional Service in Gombe State, Agada Felix-Audu, has declared that no suspect should spend more than 180 days awaiting trial before conviction or acquittal, a statement that has reignited debate over Nigeria\u2019s overcrowded prisons and sluggish justice system. Speaking during a familiarisation visit to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":75533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75534,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75532\/revisions\/75534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}