Report On 2020 Jail Delivery Exercise for Juveniles
On 21st December 2020, the Chief Judge of Enugu State visited the Enugu Custodial Center to grant relief to deserving juvenile inmates. This jail delivery exercise was in response to the call by UNICEF, NHRC, and CAPIO who are working together to assist juveniles in conflict with the law and who are in custody.
This jail delivery was specifically for juveniles in custody. The jail delivery for juveniles is part of a UNICEF programme managed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). CAPIO in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission participated in the jail delivery exercise and provided free legal representation for the juveniles. CAPIO had a team comprised of the Executive Director Rev. Fr. Ambrose Ekeroku and two Lawyers.
12 cases with 16 juvenile inmates were selected following the criteria set by the committee of judges led by the Chief Judge to benefit from the jail delivery exercise; of the 12 cases attended to, two were granted bail, while one was discharged. 3 cases were adjourned to 20 January 2021 and another 3 cases were adjourned to 27 January 2021 before the Chief Judge’s Court. Other cases were also adjourned to various dates in the regular courts and the office of the Director for Public Prosecution was given between 30 to 60 days to file information and commence the trial of some of the inmates whose trial has not yet commenced.
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Below is a table showing the number of inmates that got some relief during the jail delivery through CAPIO’s intervention:
LIST OF INMATES CAPIO REPRESENTED TO GET RELIEF FROM THE 2020 JAIL-DELIVERY EXERCISE FOR JUVENILES
| S/NO | AGE ON ADMISSION | CHARGE NUMBER | OFFENCE | NAME OF INMATE | RELIEF GRANTED |
| 1 | 17 | CME/259c/2020 | Armed Robbery | Peter Ogbonna | Adjourned to 20/1/2021 |
| 2 | 17 | MES/353c/2020 | Murder | Ashiru Awal Shole | Adjourned to 20/1/2021 |
| 3 | 16 | MEN/416c/2020 | Stealing | Meshack Ilo | Bail granted |
| 4 | 17 | MEN/418c/2020 | Armed Robbery | Somtochukwu Chukwuma | DPP to file information within 2 months |
| 5 | 17 | MAZ/40c/2020 | Rape | Eze Chinonso & 2 Ors. | Adjourned to 27/1/2021 |
| 6 | 17 | MEN/363c/2020 | Armed Robbery | Ugwu Kingsley | Adjourned to 27/1/2021 |
| 7 | 17 | MEN/348c/2020 | Armed Robbery | Ugwu Stanley Ejiofor | Discharged |
| 8 | 17 | MEN/321c/2020 | Armed Robbery | Babangida Baji Musa | DPP to file information |
| 9 | 16 | MES/312c/2020 | Armed Robbery | Hamza Mohammed | Adjourned to 20/1/2021 |
| 10 | 16 | MAZ/40c/2020 | Rape | Chukwuemeka Ogbuani | Adjourned to 27/1/2021 |
| 11 | 18 | MEN/140c/2020 | Defilement | Eugene Agalla | Granted Bail |
In the course of the jail delivery exercise, it was discovered that one of the cases on the list (number 4 on the list for the exercise) with 3 defendant juveniles were already on bail and have left the Custodial Center.
Most of the juveniles attended to were charged with capital offences and so could not get any relief from the chief judge. It was also noted in the course of the exercise that the office of the DPP has not yet filed information at the appropriate court for the trial of the juveniles who were charged with capital offences to commence. This informed the adjournment of some of the cases to January 2021 either for the trial of the defendants to commence or for the grant of some relief by the Chief Judge while they await their trial.
It is obvious from the outcome of the jail delivery exercise that the juvenile inmates need adequate legal representation, CAPIO is ready and willing to provide adequate free legal representation to ensure that the juveniles in custody enjoy access to speedy justice.
SIGNED:
Legal Unit CAPIO.
22/12/2020
