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PFN, CDHR, Lawyers Disagree Over Prison’s Beauty Pageant

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The Executive Director, Prison Fellowship Nigeria, Mr Benson Iwuagwu, has said there is no ground for the anger that greeted the recent beauty pageant held in Kirikiri Maximum Custodial Centre from the legal perspective.

Iwuagwu, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, described the reaction of many Nigerians to the pageant as a moral stance, which is akin to jungle justice.

He said, “I do not see any objective ground for the hullabaloo. But when you look at the morality and the sensibilities, that is how we make noise and later the thing dies down; it is akin to jungle justice of ‘catch him, kill him’ before we now come to find out and ask, ‘was it necessary for us to act that way?’ Of course, there are better ways they could have protested that would be beneficial to society and the people.”

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On whether the event was against the law, he said, “If you are talking about law, there is the presumption of innocence that is attached to every person, who is a suspect; it is a constitutional matter. It says until a person is convicted by a duly constituted tribunal or court, such a person is held to be innocent. That is our law.

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“Secondly, the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, introduced a scale of topical shift in the correctional or prison’s regime in Nigeria and if we view that shift in paradigm, and we find that there are provisions that look more at reformation and victims’ remedy, the question to quickly ask is, does that pageant take away any victim’s life? The answer is an objective ‘no.’”

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People should be educated on inmates’ rights, says prison minister

Also, the Head of Prison Ministry, The Citadel Global Community Church, Babafemi Famuyide, said the public should be educated to understand that inmates also have rights that should be respected.

Famuyide, in an interview with The PUNCH, said one of the purposes of prison was to reform the character of inmates and rehabilitate them.

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He said, “The message I want to emphasise is that we must educate the public to understand that even though these inmates are incarcerated and cut off from society, they also have rights and we must do everything possible to also aid and help in ensuring that they are reformed and properly rehabilitated and reintegrated back into the society so that they can contribute their own quota to the society.

“Also, the purpose of prison is to protect society and to reduce recidivism through character reformation and the rehabilitation efforts. Also with reintegration of these inmates back into society as the end goal, correctional facilities should therefore, offer education, vocational training and any other assistance needed to achieve the above.

“Providing meaningful activities support prison management and it aids in the metal health and rehabilitation of inmates.

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“Everything must therefore be done to reduce the rate of recidivism in our justice system. Having said this, can we then say that holding a beauty pageant was not wrong in itself considering that it was conducted to celebrate International Women’s Day? I think that is very key for us to note.

“The beauty pageant also was not the only activity that was carried out that day at the facility. It is also worthy of note to mention that the costumes, hairdos and other accessories that were used by the contestants were the products made by the inmates themselves through skill acquisition trainings that they have had while being incarcerated.”

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, in a separate interview, also supported the programme, saying it should be extended nationwide to other custodial centres as it was part of the reformation process that inmates should be exposed to.

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The National Publicity Secretary, CDHR, Gerald Kathy, said since terrorists were being rehabilitated and reintegrated into society, how much more were other criminal suspects.

He stated, “The beauty pageant is what should be encouraged by all centres. They are being referred to as correctional centres; the essence of that is to receive criminals and rehabilitate them to become useful to themselves and society.

“Today, you see that terrorists are being rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. If the controller was subsequently transferred because of that, then it would be very unfortunate; it defeats the reason we had to change the name of the service. Yes, the case is still on, but why their cases, especially that of Chidinma is still on, she should not be allowed to waste away until the court describes her as a criminal; she’s still a suspect.”

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But human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), described the beauty pageant as insensitive.

“There is no provision in the Nigerian Correctional Services Act that provides for beauty pageants in any correctional centre in Nigeria,” he said.

Another SAN, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, took a swipe at the NCoS over the event.

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According to him, inmates, especially those who were alleged to have committed capital offences, should be discouraged from such programmes.

He said, “Those who are in custody are entitled to constitutional protection, which is called presumption of innocence; in other words, we can’t judge them or condemn them until the court has ruled on the matter.

“However, with the way they were dressed, giggling and laughing seem to be an excessive display of such right, especially with one of them, who allegedly committed a capital offence. Also, given that public opinion is important in guiding judicial decisions, because justice is in three ways: justice to the society, the victim and the suspect.

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“The feelings of the family or others, who have died as a result of their actions can’t be neglected. To me, it was wrong and people facing trial should go through some moral restrain. There are other positive events they can participate in and not the open display of beauty.”

Another SAN, Ifedayo Adedipe, said such event was uncalled for.

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“That’s immoral. I am not talking from the illegality or otherwise, I simply think such an event is uncalled for,” he said.

PUNCH

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UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

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The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

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His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

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He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

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The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

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A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

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READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

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He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

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Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

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Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.

According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.

The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.

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French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.

The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.

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Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.

READ ALSO:Madagascar Passes Bill To Castrate Child R*pists

It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.

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The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.

Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.

Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.

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Kamala Harris Hints At Running For President Again

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Former US vice president Kamala Harris said in a British television interview previewed in Saturday that she may “possibly” run again to be president.

Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump, told the BBC that she had not yet decided whether to make another White House bid.

But the 61-year-old insisted she was “not done” in American politics and that her young grandnieces would see a female president in the Oval Office “in their lifetime, for sure”.

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“I have lived my entire career a life of service, and it’s in my bones, and there are many ways to serve.

“I’ve not decided yet what I will do in the future, beyond what I am doing right now,” Harris told the British broadcaster in an interview set to air in full on Sunday.

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The comments are the strongest hint yet that Harris could attempt to be the Democratic Party nominee for the 2028 election.

READ ALSO:Kamala Harris Secures Democratic Presidential Nomination

The interview follows the release of her memoir last month, in which she argued it had been “recklessness” to let Biden run for a second term as president.

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She also accused his White House team of failing to support her while she was his deputy, and at times of actively hindering her.

AFP

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