By SUNDAY ANI ([email protected])

Located in the quiet, landlocked, stony,  ancient Idah, the headquarters of Igala Kingdom in Kogi State, North-central Nigeria, Idah Prison built in 1901 by the British colonialists, is unarguably the oldest existing prison in Nigeria. 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 find yourself inside a compound that serves as the front 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 incalculable damage from weather elements,  but they are still very solid from all indications, although the zinc is rusty, an indication that they could be leaking when it rains.

From the available records, there were other prisons that were built before it, like the Marina Prison in Lagos, but none of them are in existence today. The Marina Prison has been collapsed  into the Ikoyi Prison and  the  Maximum and Minimum Security Prisons, Kirikiri, all in Lagos State. Like the Gibraltar rock, Idah Prison still stands tall and strong, with the ability, from every available evidence, to survive the next 40 years or more without a crack on its walls. Built with stones, the 102 capacity prisons is still a wonder to behold. As one of the prison officers described it, “it is a prison within prison.” This is because, the old prison edifice of 1901 is enveloped by a modern fence, which is what the outsiders see but right inside the enclave of the modern facility is the antiquated, stone house that has withstood the atmospheric elements for over a century.

It’s 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 standing and holding prisoners.

Our correspondent was there to have a firsthand assessment of the prison and see what makes it tick  and the findings were quite revealing. Contrary to the common malaise of overcrowding experienced in most Nigerian prisons, Idah 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 currently have 37 inmates. These 37 inmates comprise  convicts and those awaiting trials or un-convicted persons. Substantially, the inmates are from Kogi State vicinity; I mean indigenes of Kogi State. We are not suffering any congestion as other prisons in other areas in Nigeria.”

A breakdown of the inmates shows that 12 persons have been  convicted while the remaining 25 persons are awaiting trial. Of the 12 convicted prisoners, four persons are serving long jail terms while the remaining eight are on short term jail sentences.

Genesis of the prison

The origin of what today prides itself as the oldest prison in Nigeria, is traced to the Attah of Igala. Investigation revealed that  it used to be a detention centre situated within the Attah’s Palace where dissidents and deviants were kept to do menial jobs for a 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  the Attah’s prison but a native authority prison and it operated as such until  the federal government 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 Attah’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 rulers. For instance, if you go to Kotonkarfi, the prison there is near the traditional ruler’s house. Here in Idah, it is just close to Attah’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 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 attract execution, exile or total banishment from the community. 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.”

Challenges of the prison

However, having been built over a century ago, one would expect that the structure would have peep cracks and failing foundation. But, that is strangely not so.  The walls are still strong though the paints have peeled off. 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 it is  fast rusting. Checks revealed that this rusty condition of the zinc has leads to leakage when it rains. The ceiling is 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 need. This structure built in 1901 is long overdue for renovation.

“Specifically, the zinc roofing needs to be replaced. It’s  too old, rusted and leaks when it rains. For that length of time too, the ceiling also needs replacement. The gatehouse ; that is the main gate to the prison is giving way. It’s now old and  needs 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 of time, many people would wonder what has sustained it till date. 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  public spirited individuals to come to our aids in respect of those areas because you can’t leave everything to  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 makeshift carpentry workshop which was provided sometime 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 masters. And even at that, nothing is happening in that workshop. It’s just a shed 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  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.

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.

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 as the prison. It looks abandoned and unused with cracks on its walls. The zinc roofing is also not looking nice. It was gathered that it used to be an official  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 feel 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.

Length of sentence

One very unique thing about Ida Prison is the absence of prisoners on  very long prison terms like 10 years and above, life sentence(s) 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 prison. 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 could have been the longest serving inmate here has been transferred.”

Absence of colonial buildings           

There was visibly an 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 buildings within the vicinity of  the prison yard and the chief warder’s quarters.

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.

Source: The Sun Newspaper

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