The Impact of Civil War on Prisons in Nigeria and Its National Security Implication

Abstract

Prior to the advent of colonial administration in Nigeria, punishment and prisons were under the control of traditional institutions. However, the emergence of colonial rule in Nigeria witnessed the introduction of English penal codes by the British colonial administrators through various ordinances and proclamations. The English law and prison system protected British economic interests and was used to punish natives who were resisting and committing offences against the colonial order. The study examines the effects of the Nigerian Civil War on prisons in Nigeria from 1967 to 1970. The study used both primary and secondary sources of evidence. Using the historical method of analysis, the study finds out that, at independence in 1960, the Nigerian prisons inherited its feature from the colonial prisons system. Following the ethno-religious crises that engulfed the nation by 1966, and the setbacks witnessed in the Nigerian Prisons, government constituted the Gobir Panel which brought about the abolition of Native Authority prisons and the subsequent unification of the Prisons Service in Nigeria, marking the beginning of Nigerian Prison Service as a composite reality. However, the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, could not give room for this reform to take its full measure. Prisons in Nigeria became a horrifying scene as prisoners became victims of murder, prison abandonment, prison-yard violence, prison break, and tortures, among others. The study concludes that, prisons challenges and its attendant Nigerian Civil War within this period is associated with a failure of state capacity.