File Photo: Some inmates in Nigeria
An inmate in the Nigerian prison has passed away due to the alleged ill-treatment meted out to him by prison officials following his health collapse.
An awaiting trial inmate at the Ogwashi Uku Prison in Delta State, Smart Ohuzu, has died four months after he was remanded at the facility for attempted murder.
It was gathered that Ohuzu had been down with unnamed ailments for
about two months while pleas from his co-immates that he should be taken
to a hospital for treatment reportedly fell on deaf ears.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Ohuzu collapsed on Sunday, but instead of
rushing him to a hospital, some warders on duty asked his co-inmates to
contribute N5,000 to fuel the operational vehicle that would take him to
the Ogwashi Uku General Hospital.
A correspondent was told that when Ohuzu was eventually taken to
the hospital, doctors on duty referred him to the Okwe General Hospital
or the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba.
It was learnt that the warders, however, brought him back to the prison, where he later died.
An activist and former inmate at the prison, Gwamnishu Harrison,
who posted Ohuzu’s death on Facebook, accused the prison authorities of
subjecting inmates to cruel treatment.
He said many inmates had lost their lives due to lack of welfare and negligence of warders at the prison.
Harrison wrote, “Yesterday (Sunday), another one happened. This
is the worst. This time, it was a young man who was just remanded in
the prison by a Delta State Magistrate’s Court.
“For two months, he has been sick. Fellow inmates had begged the prison authorities to take Smart Ohuzu to a hospital.
“Smart Ohuzu collapsed and prison authorities called on the
cell leader to gather N5,000 from inmates so that they could transport
him to the Ogwashi Uku General Hospital. The poor prisoners contributed
money. Some contributed N10, some N50 and they were able to contribute
N3,500.
“Prison officers got angry and refused to take Smart Ohuzu to
hospital. Inmates who saw Smart Ohuzu on the floor struggling, rushed
back to the cell and one inmate gave out the N1,500 balance to enable
officers to take Smart Ohuzu to hospital.
“Smart Ohuzu was rushed to the general hospital after warders
had collected the money contributed. On getting to the hospital, the
doctors treated him and referred him to the Federal Medical Center or
Okwe General Hospital.
“The officers, instead of taking Smart Ohuzu to either of the
hospitals that the doctors referred the inmate to, they, with chains on
his legs, led him into the Black Maria and took him back to the prison,
complaining of shortage of manpower.
“Smart Ohuzu was then chained and left in the cold. He
struggled and died with tears in his eyes. He died three hours after he
was forcefully brought back into the prison. The inmates cannot
complain; if they do, they either change their cell or punish them.”
Speaking with a correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday,
Harrison, who is the Chief Executive Officer, Behind Bars Intervention,
said one of the inmates, Onos Osagie, was accused of giving him the
information.
He stated that Osagie was being tortured, calling on the Controller
General of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed, and Minister
of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), to intervene to
avert further deaths in the prison.
Harrison said he paid for utilities ranging from water, electricity
to medical treatment, among others, during his four years in the
prison.
Harrison explained that he was discharged from the prison in
November 2015, after a robbery charge against him was struck out for
lack of evidence.
He said, “The minister of interior and CG Prisons should make
available to the general public the names of all awaiting trial inmates
that died in custody from 2013 till date – they are close to 10,000 – or
we will be forced to publish their names.
“They should urgently set up toilet facilities for inmates to reduce infections as 150 inmates use just two toilets.
“Are prisoners supposed to pay for water, electricity, hospital
medication, repair of damage vehicles and transport to court? If no,
please start fighting corrupt practices from Delta State Prison
Command.”
Harrison told PUNCH Metro that he took pictures of some
malnourished and sick inmates in one of his visits to the prison after
his release, adding that two of the inmates – David Okafor and Peter
Onyeama – later died in December 2016 from kidney failure and swollen
testicles.
“I brought their plight to the attention of the CG and the
minister after I visited the prison in November 2016 and they were taken
to the FMC, Asaba. Okafor died at the hospital, while Onyeama died in
the prison after he was brought back from the hospital.
“The CG visited the prison today (Tuesday) and I learnt that
cell leaders have been warned not to reveal whatever happens in the
prison again,” he added.
The Controller of Prisons in the state, Sam Iyakoregha, denied
that Ohuzu died as result of negligence. He also refuted the allegation
of poor welfare for the inmates at the prisons in the state.
He said, “He (Ohuzu) was treated six times in the prison’s
clinic. He was an awaiting trial inmate who came in as a murderer. He
came with a wound. He was treated in the clinic and it got healed.
“I did not know what led to his death, but he was being treated
for a swollen leg and dizziness as presented in the clinic at various
times.
“At a point when we could not handle it (his sickness), we
referred him to Oguachukwu General Hospital. They could not handle the
matter and he was referred to the Okwe General Hospital, which did not
have the facility to treat him.
“He was referred to the FMC. We took him there, but they were
on strike. They didn’t attend to him. That was why we returned him to
the prison. We couldn’t move him anywhere other than the prison.
“We brought him back to manage him at the prison’s clinic, and
then he died. The issue of prisoners contributing money is a fallacy. I
have investigated the claim. It will interest you to know that
prisoners are looking healthy apart from those that are sick.”
Iyakoregha, who also confirmed Okafor and Onyeama’s death, refuted the claim that Osagie was being punished.
“Those (Okafor and Onyeama) were the inmates we took to the
hospital because of sickness. It was not because they were
malnourished.”
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