By Festus Ahon
UGHELLI — THE Civil Rights and Rehabilitation Bureau has condemned in its entirety, the continued detention of of a 17-year-old girl, Comfort, in the Kirikiri Prison, Lagos, after being allegedly abused sexually by her guardian (names withheld).

The group in a statement by its Facilitator, Mr. Cyril Ojiemen, said Comfort was a victim of circumstance. Ojiemen further said: “Our attention has been drawn to a publication in the dallies about a 17-year-old girl detained at the Kirikiri Prison for stealing and who recently gave birth to a baby boy.

“The girl was detained in prison on an allegation of stealing brought against her by a man,  who it was alleged sexually abused her and who was supposed to be her guardian in Lagos. She was arraigned at the Abule- Egba Magistrates Court, Lagos, on  January 26, 2010, had no one to perfect her bail condition, which is N50,000 and was thereafter detained at the Kirikiri Prison.

“We call on the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN to direct the immediate release of Comfort by virtue of his power of Prerogative of Mercy conferred on him by the 1999 constitution. On the other hand, if the Governor is not willing to direct the immediate release of the girl, he should as a matter of utmost urgency direct his Attorney General and the office of the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, to commence trial within 48 hours.

“We have great concern about the Nigerian criminal justice system as the judiciary and the police are mainly responsible for prison congestion.

We state further that it is no use giving bail conditions that would be difficult to perfect as in most cases, failure to meet these, usually resulted to the accused person being detained in prison. We suggest that bail conditions should be lenient as obtained in most developed countries of the world,” the group added.