Speakers at a public event organised by the Tunji Braithwaite Foundation (TBF) on Friday have called for major reforms to Nigeria's justice and correctional systems, urging citizens to know their rights while encouraging government to improve access to justice.
The event, tagged “Breaking the Silence”, was organized by the foundation to give a voice to the unjustly incarcerated in the various Nigerian correctional centres.
The event began with a March of Silence from the gates of the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Lagos, to the Tunji Braithwaite Park, Lagos, where the foundation’s partners and supporters gathered to discuss the fate of the incarcerated and their plans to help them.
Speaking at the event, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of Trinity House Church and Trinity Foundation said many correctional centres across Nigeria are overcrowded and have old, failing infrastructure.
He said some facilities built for a few hundred inmates now hold several thousand people, making meaningful rehabilitation difficult.
He urged reforms of the judiciary, correctional services and human rights protections, saying leaders should govern with compassion and remember they are meant to serve the people.
Also speaking, the Director of Public Prosecutions in Lagos State, Mr. Adebayo Haroun, explained how plea bargaining is helping reduce overcrowding in correctional centres.
He said the legal process allows defendants who admit committing offences to apply for reduced charges or lighter sentences, subject to approval under the law.
According to him, more than 2,000 inmates have benefited from plea bargaining in recent years.
He stressed that the process is voluntary, free of charge and only available to people who accept responsibility for their crimes and are willing to change.
In an interview after the event, Tunji Braithwaite Foundation Executive Director Dr. Olaoluwa Braithwaite (Branco-Rhodes) said injustice affects every Nigerian, whether directly or indirectly.
She urged citizens to support organisations promoting justice reforms and to demand accountability from public ins
titutions.
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