Making prisons “comfortable” in Nigeria

The great British taxpayer is under attack again, clamours The Daily Mail, as the UK government forks out “£1million for a jail in… Nigeria”. The “comfortable” prison is destined to house 400 Nigerian inmates incarcerated in British prisons who cannot be deported to complete their sentences. “Jails in Nigeria,” the London daily complains, “are considered so rough that any prisoner (…) could oppose their removal on human rights grounds.” The UK government hopes that by upgrading a Nigerian prison to British standards, the prisoners could then be repatriated. While Lin Homer, the UK Border agency chief, has said the plan would save taxpayers' money, pressure group TaxPayers' Alliance calls it an “an absolute scandal”. Elsewhere, human rights groups say current conditions in Nigerian prisons are “appalling”, with more than 50% of prisoners still awaiting trial – “some for up to ten years.”