By Abdulwahab Abdulah

Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has petitioned the Federal Government, accusing it of being responsible for the death of prison inmates across the country through alleged poor or no medical attention.

Femi-FalanaIn a petition to the Interior Minister, Mr. Abba Moro, Falana noted that more than ten inmates of the Kirikiri maximum prisons, Lagos had died in the last three years due to perceived failure of government to provide adequate medical care for the inmates.

He called on the National Human Rights Commission, to investigate what he described as “illegal killing of convicts and awaiting trial inmates in prison custody in Nigeria,” in a view to recommend payment of exemplary damages to their families.

According to him, ”In the last three years, several prisoners have been brutally killed by terrorists and other armed gangs who stormed a number of prisons to free their detained members.

Since the prisons are not well secured the Federal Government is vicariously liable for the premature death of such prison inmates. More worrisome is the fact that several prison inmates, who are terminally ill may soon die due to lack of medical attention by the prison authorities. It is hoped that all measures are being put in place to keep the highly infectious Ebola virus away from the prisons.

“Mr. Abba Moro has failed to ensure the provision of adequate medical facilities in the prisons, we request the National Human Rights commission to investigate the illegal killing of convicts and awaiting trial inmates in prison custody in Nigeria.’

”The Commission may wish to recommend the payment of exemplary damages to the families of prison inmates who had lost their lives on account of medical neglect and the trial of all public officers whose negligence has contributed to the killing of prison inmates.”