Overcrowding: Ajulo advocates electronic tags for inmates

Dr Kayode Ajulo, a constitutional lawyer, has urged the Federal Government to introduce electronic tags for inmates awaiting trial in correctional centers to ease overcrowding.

Ajulo who made the call in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday,

He said this would address the issue of overcrowding in correctional centres, expedites judicial process, and optimised the utilisation of government resources.

Ajulo said that the current state of Nigeria’s correctional centres system was burdened by high number of inmates awaiting trial.

He said that a significant proportion of the population of the centres comprise of individuals, who had not yet been convicted.

According him, it not only exacerbates issues of overcrowding, but also places an enormous financial strain on government resources allocated for the maintenance of these individuals.

He said the primary objective of this proposal is to introduce a comprehensive system of prison electronic tags for inmates awaiting trial.

Ajulo further said that to effectively implement the prison electronic tags system, step such as, needs Assessment, collaborative partnerships, legislative framework, pilot programme, capacity building, among others must be considered.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) designate said the successful implementation of the prison electronic tags system would require a well-defined budget.

He said it will as well represent a significant step towards addressing the challenges faced by Nigeria’s correctional centres system.

Ajulo urged government to consider the proposal and initiate the necessary steps to pilot and implement the prison electronic tagging system in Nigeria.