Mr Emmanuel Okoro, the new Controller of Prisons in Nasarawa State, has promised to work with the judiciary, the police and other stakeholders to ensure speedy dispensation of justice.
Mr Okoro, who made the promise at a news conference in Lafia on Wednesday, said he would liaise with the chief judge and the judiciary toward decongesting prisons in the state.
He noted that law courts were brought close to prisons in most states of the federation to deal with minor cases and discharge offenders.
The controller described the justice system as a tripod in which nothing could be done if one was not functioning well.
Okoro expressed readiness to liaise with the police and the judiciary to ensure that civil matters were handled without necessarily getting offenders into prisons as the prison was not a dumping ground.
“We are going to work with relevant authorities, stakeholders in the justice delivery system, the police and the judiciary to ensure speedy dispensation of justice.
“Certain cases are supposed to be handled and discharged at the police station without necessarily getting the offenders into prison,” he said.
Okoro described prison congestion in the country as disturbing and attributed the development to the high rate of crime.
“Over the years we have seen progressive improvement in the prisons reformation, we will drive to the grassroots as much as possible the service general direction of inmates’ reformation, they are all well known in the public domain,” he said.
Okoro appealed to the government, to assist the prisons with vehicles, infrastructure improvement and sundry issues, which would position the prisons for better service delivery.
He urged the public not to see those in prison as outcasts because not everyone in prison was a convict, adding that the majority of inmates were awaiting trial.
