By SUNDAY ANI (nichsunny@yahoo.com)
Located in the quiet, stony ancient Ida, the
headquarters of Igala Kingdom in Kogi State, North-central Nigeria, Ida Prison
built in 1901 by the British colonialists, is unarguably the oldest existing
prison in Nigeria at present. An outsider who sees the prison’s high fence
would begin to wonder if it has existed for that length of time since it has
the semblance of other prison fences across the country. But that is the fence
built by the federal government of Nigeria much later to give the colonial
prison a modern outlook. As you wade through the tight security at the main
gate, you will find yourself inside a compound that serves as the frontage of
the administrative block which forms part of the modern fence. Then, right in
front of you is the ancient building with all the attributes of an antiquity.
Divided into two wings of male and female sections and a kitchen standing
in-between, there appears a small and narrow entrance into the main prison
compound, which is made of a very thick and strong iron rod. A peep through the
narrow gate quickly brings into focus, inmates seated in clusters and chatting.
The impenetrable walls are made of stones and the roofing appears to have
suffered so much under the weather elements. But, they are still very solid
from all indication, although the zinc looks rusty; an indication that they
could be leaking when it rains.
It is no longer news that most Nigerian prisons are
overcrowded and in deplorable conditions. Such stories are stale and most of
the prisons in these deplorable and inhuman states were built shortly before
independence in 1960 or even after. But, here is a prison built long before the
amalgamation in 1914; even before the country assumed the name, Nigeria; still
solid and waxing strong.
Our correspondent was there to have a firsthand
assessment of the prison and see what makes it thick; and the findings were
quite revealing. Contrary to the common malaise of overcrowding experienced in
most Nigerian prisons, Ida Prison is grossly under-utilized. The ancient prison,
which was built with the capacity to house 102 inmates, only has 37 inmates
currently enjoying the ambience of the headquarters of the Igala kingdom, when
their counterparts in other prisons are contending with congestion.
A prison officer who volunteered to comment on the
under-utilization of the prison said: “The prison was built with an
accommodation capacity of 102 inmates but we are currently locking 37 inmates.
These 37 inmates comprise the convicts and awaiting trials or un-convicted
persons. Substantially, the inmates are from kogi State vicinity; I mean
indigenes of Kogi State. Truly, we are not suffering any congestion as other
prisons in other areas in Nigeria.”
A breakdown of the inmates shows that 12 persons are
convicted while the remaining 25 persons are un-convicted. Of the 12 convicted
prisoners, four persons are serving long jail term while the remaining eight
are on short term jail sentence.
Genesis of the prison
The origin of what today prides itself as the oldest
prison in Nigeria, is traced to the Atta of Igala. From investigation, it used
to be a detention centre situated within the Atta of Igala’s Palace where
dissidents and deviants were kept to do some menial jobs for some period before
they regained their freedom. But all that changed when the number of offenders
increased; it was taken out of the palace and situated opposite it. Then, it
was no longer Atta’s prison but a native authority prison and it operated as
such until when the federal government came in and took over the control and
administration of the prison.
Throwing more light on the origin of the prison, a
prison officer who preferred anonymity said: “From oral history, in those old
days, it used to be a detention centre or hall within the Atta’s palace, until
eventually when the number of criminals started increasing and they decided to
take it out of the palace and situated it just opposite the palace. If you take
cognisance of the location of prisons in the whole of the north during the
colonial period, you will see that they were just sited by the palace of all
the chiefs. For instance, if you go to Kotonkarfi, the prison there is just
close by the traditional ruler’s house. Here in Ida, it is just close to Atta’s
palace; you go to Kabba, it is just by the Obaro’s palace; you go to Wukari in
Taraba State, the old prison was just opposite the Akuka’s palace. So, in the
north, it was just like that and the petty offenders of those days were kept in
these places to do menial jobs in the palace, especially offenders, whose cases
did not involve termination of life, sending them on exile or total banishment
from the area. That was how it was until the native authority took over and it
became Native Authority Prison. It remained like that until the federal
government came in 1987 or thereabout and took over the prisons.”
Metamorphosis of the prison
Although, it started as Atta’s detention centre, it is
today a federal government prison. Divided into two wings for male and female
prisoners, the ancient structure has been under the control of two authorities
before its present status as a federal prison.
Investigation revealed that the prison had gone
through series of administrative transfigurations since its inception from
being Atta’s detention hall to what it is today – federal prison, Ida. It was
gathered that when it was Atta’s detention hall, it was directly under the
control and supervision of Atta before the Native Authority took over and
placed it under the control of District Officers (DOs). However, when Nigeria
got independence in 1960, the divisional authority took over and it remained so
until the federal government took over around 1987 or thereabout.
Challenges of the prison
However, having been existing for over a century, it would
be expected that the structure would have been developing cracks on the wall,
thereby shaking the ancient structure to its very foundation. But, that is not
so because the walls are still almost as strong as they were when they were
constructed. The solid nature of the wall made one of the officers to conclude
that even in the next 40 years or so, the walls would still be looking very
strong.
But the same cannot be said of the roofing and the
ceiling. The roofing is caving in to the effects of weather elements as they
are fast rusting. Checks revealed that this rusty condition of the zinc has
given way to water leakage when it rains. The ceiling is also not left out as
they are also caving in and needs replacement.
Speaking on what needs to be replaced so that the
structure would bounce back to its original state, the officer who preferred to
be anonymous said: “We appreciate the current Comptroller-General, Zakari
Ohinoyi Ibrahim, for what he is doing. There are a lot of renovations and
officers are well motivated in one way or the other but, as you know, human
beings cannot be fully satisfied. There are some few areas of needs – like the
structure from 1901 till now needs renovation.
“Specifically, the zinc needs to be replaced. They are
too old, rusted and are leaking when it rains. For that length of time too, the
ceiling also needs replacement. And the gate lodge; that is the main gate to
the prison is giving way. They are now old and they need replacement. As for
the inmates, they are well fed.
“For the walls, as one can see, they are made of
stones; so we are not suffering any cracks on the walls. That one is no problem
for now and I think the wall can still stand for the next 40 years or more.
They are really very concrete but as for the zinc and ceiling, they are quite
old and they need replacement.”
As the longest surviving prison in Nigeria of that
length, many people would wonder what has sustained it till today. It has
indeed become one of the historical relics in Nigeria. Apart from the fact that
the walls were made of stone, which could partly be responsible for its
survival till date, investigation revealed that the prison has never been
overcrowded. In other words, its facilities have never been over stretched;
rather they have always been underutilized. That, to a large extent, could also
have been responsible for its survival for over a century, unlike other prisons
that face the problem of overcrowding and by extension overstretching of
facilities, which invariably contributes to wear and tear and eventual pack up.
As one of the historical relics in Nigeria, all hands
must be on deck to ensure that it continues to exist since the foundation is
still very strong and on that score, one of the prison officers who spoke to
our correspondent explained the efforts being made in that direction.
He said: “We have made some requests to the government
and the result is being awaited. We have also appealed to the public spirited
individuals to come to our aids in respect of those areas because you can’t
leave everything for the government.”
Investigation also revealed that the prison was built
without provision for any kind of workshop where inmates could be trained on
skill acquisition while in prison, so that when they are out, they would have
something to do. That way, they may not likely go back to crime. This
observation was confirmed by some officers who maintained that the absence of
any workshop from the original plan was a colonial mistake. But, our reporter
was informed that there was a make shift carpentry workshop which was provided
some time in the past. They however agreed with the reporter that provision of
such workshops would be a welcome development as it obtains in other prisons
across the country.
“The other area that we might need assistance is in
the area of workshops for the rehabilitation of the inmates. Originally, there
was no provision for workshops; although, we have one old carpentry workshop
but it wasn’t built by the colonial master. And even at that, nothing is
happening in that workshop. It is just a shade that we just put up outside the
colonial prison but within the federal government prison because if you are
talking of anything being built by the colonial masters, what we have here is a
prison within prison. You have the main prison built by the colonial masters in
1901 and the new structure by the federal government, which now fences the old
prison and provides administrative block for the prison officers. So, if you
pass through the first gate, the compound you will see is not the main prison;
you will see another small gate that leads you to the main prison and that is
the one built by the colonial government in 1901. So, it is possible for
somebody to have come in here and think that he/she has entered the prison whereas
such a person has not seen the prison itself,” one of the officers said.
Chief Warder’s quarters
As you walk into the prison, there is an old structure
standing conspicuously by the left hand side also built with stone.
Investigation revealed that it was built the same time with the prison. It
looks abandoned and unused with cracks on its walls. The zinc is also not
looking nice. It was gathered that it used to be an officials quarters for the
chief warder. This was confirmed by one of the officers who said that the chief
warder is ordinarily not supposed to live far from the prison yard because he
should be in a position to feel the heartbeat of the prisoners at any point in
time.
“The small house you saw outside was the Chief
Warder’s Quarters; that was where he lived. By law, the chief warder is not
supposed to live far from the vicinity of the prisons but here, it is not so.
The chief warder is the head of the subordinate staff. He needs to get the
heartbeat of the inmates, every minute and every second. We are not using the
building now; it’s just there as a historical relic,” the source informed.
Achievements
Of all the achievements of the prison since it was
established some 112 years ago, the most recent and the one that readily comes
to mind, was the enrolment of an inmate into the National Open University of
Nigeria, (NOUN). Although, the number of inmates is just 37, the Prison has
been able to send an inmate, Fadile Ahmed, to study at the Open University.
Checks revealed that he has been transferred to Kabba where NOUN has a study
centre but it is on record that it was when he was in Ida Prison that he gained
admission into the university.
“We discovered that he had a secondary school
certificate, so we secured admission for him in the Open University. We have transferred
him to Kabba where he would be able to run the programme because there are only
two study centres of the Open University in Kogi State – one in Kabba and the
other in Lokoja. Since there is no prison in Lokoja, we transferred him to
Kabba where there is a prison and where the university has a centre, so that he
could run an undergraduate programme while in prison, so that by the time he
leaves at the expiration of his jail term, he could be useful to himself and
society. His name is Fadile Ahmed.” the source said.
Length of sentence
One very unique thing about Ida Prison is the absence
of prisoners on a very long prison terms like 10 years and above, life sentence
or even condemned inmates. Investigation revealed that the longest term inmates
in the prison serve is between five and seven years.
A source who volunteered to throw light on that said:
“There is one that I was told started when he was young and he is still in the
prison although, his stay has been intermittent; he would commit one offence,
get jailed and released and after an interval, he would commit another offence
and he would be back in the prisons. He is a jailbird; but he is about going
out now. He goes out to do menial jobs. We give him that opportunity because he
would soon be released. Here, they are not given long terms; maybe five years
and the longest is seven years. The one that would have been the longest inmate
here has been transferred.”
Absence
of colonial buildings
There was visibly absence of colonial buildings within
the precinct of the prison; a situation which one of the prison officers
attributed to the hostile nature of the Igala people to the white colonialists
at the period. He revealed that during the recent coronation ceremony of the 23rd
Atta Igala, His Royal Majesty, Idakwo
Ameh Oboni, in April 2013, the British journalists who travelled down to
Nigeria from the UK to witness the coronation confirmed it. According to the
gentlemen of the press from the UK, they said that in the archive of Igala
Kingdom in their home country, there is a bold inscription, ‘A kingdom that
could not be colonised.’ In other words, the hostile attitudes of the natives
forced the colonial overlords out of Ida to Lokoja and then to Lagos where they
finally settled as the administrative headquarters of the colonial government.
That, according to the officer, explains why there are no other colonial
building within the vicinity outside the prison yard and the chief warder’s
quarters.
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