The story of Gospel Kinanee, who spent 18 years in detention without trial after disappearing as a 14-year-old boy, is one of the most damning indictments of Nigeria’s criminal justice system in recent times. It is difficult to imagine how a child could enter the custody of the state and emerge 18 years later as a mentally unstable adult, with no clear record of why he was arrested or detained.
His case raises fundamental questions about the operations of the Nigeria Police Force, the courts and the Nigerian Correctional Service. More importantly, it exposes glaring weaknesses in record-keeping and case management within the country’s justice system.
According to his family, Gospel disappeared in 2007 after leaving home to play with friends. Despite extensive searches at police stations, hospitals and correctional facilities, no trace of him was found. His parents eventually died from heartbreak after fruitless searches. It was only a jail delivery exercise in Rivers State that he was discovered at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre, where he had reportedly spent 18 years in custody under a different name.
The most disturbing aspect of the matter is that neither the correctional authorities nor other relevant agencies could reportedly provide any documentation explaining the basis of his incarceration. There was no case file, no clear record of the offence for which he was detained and no convincing explanation as to why he remained in custody for 18 years without trial.
The family has approached the court, seeking ₦10 billion in compensation for the wrongful detention and the irreparable damage done to Gospel and the family. Their demand for justice deserves support. While no financial compensation can restore the lost years, undo the psychological damage or bring back parents who died while searching for their son, the legal action presents an opportunity to establish responsibility and reinforce the principle that public institutions must be held accountable for their actions.
Unfortunately, Gospel’s ordeal is not likely to be an isolated case.
The Nigerian Correctional Service recently disclosed that awaiting trial inmates constitute 64 per cent of the country’s custodial population. Out of 80,812 inmates nationwide, 51,955 are awaiting trial, while only 24,913 have been convicted. Those figures point to a justice system weighed down by delays, poor investigation, slow prosecution and prolonged detention.
Equally disturbing is the continued practice by law enforcement agencies of arresting citizens on vague allegations such as “wandering”, “public nuisance” and similar offences. Although federal laws criminalising vagrancy and loitering were repealed under the Minor Offences Act in 1989, reports of indiscriminate arrests of young people and other vulnerable Nigerians remain widespread.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights have held that such arrests disproportionately target the poor and violate fundamental rights. Yet, the practice persists. Innocent Nigerians are still rounded up during police raids, detained and compelled to pay bail. Those who cannot afford bail or secure legal representation often remain in custody far longer than the law permits, thereby adding to the already alarming number of awaiting trial inmates. Those who have nobody to come for them risk being forgotten in prison, like Gospel, who was even a minor at the time he was taken away.
As a newspaper, we recommend that the federal government urgently orders a comprehensive audit of all correctional and custodial centres across the country. Such an exercise should not be limited to routine jail delivery programmes. Every inmate should be profiled and matched with valid documentation, including remand warrants, charge sheets, court records and case files. Authorities must establish the legal basis for every person’s detention.
Where no lawful documentation exists, immediate judicial review should follow. Those found to be unlawfully detained should regain their freedom without delay, while officials responsible for negligence, poor record management or unlawful detention should be sanctioned in accordance with the law.
The Nigerian Correctional Service also owes the public an explanation as to how an inmate could remain in custody for 18 years under a different identity without any attempt to establish his true identity or trace his relatives. Correctional centres are expected to maintain accurate records of all inmates in their custody.
The Gospel Kinanee case should, therefore, serve as a catalyst for far-reaching reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system. The custodial facility is a place to reform persons with errant behaviour. The fact that Gospel came out mentally damaged shows more work must go into turning the custodial facilities into correctional centres indeed.
