form of torture inhuman or degrading treatment. No pictures to convince the
Court that the Applicants came in and remained in good condition while in
detention. The Applicants however provided a series of corroborative
depositions on oath which was arguably the best they could provide
considering their incarceration.
Therefore the principle of presumption of innocence until proved guilty was
as a matter of obligation supposed to have been observed and applied to
the inmates by the Respondent to the extent that bail was supposed to
have been granted especially when the Court observed that the offence
alleged to have been committed was a felony but a Public Order offence.
There is no evidence before this Court rebutting these allegations of the
Applicants who claimed to have been kept in terrible prison conditions.
In light of the foregoing, the Court holds that the treatment given to the
Applicants while in custody is in violation of the Applicants rights
guaranteed under Article 5 of the African Charter.
iii.
ACCESS TO FAMILY
The Applicants submitted inter alia that they were not allowed family visits
while in detention. In challenging the Applicants assertion in this wise, the
Respondent claimed to have annexed the daily occurrence book emanating
from the prison which shows records of prison visitation to the Applicants
by counsel and family members.
However, having critically scrutinized all the documents and annexures
before the Court, we find no document of such nature emanating from the
Respondent. As a matter of fact, the burden of proof lies on the person
alleging the existence of facts. (See FEMI FALANA supra). However,
where the adverse party expressly states that there was no such denial of
visits, then it behooves on him to lead evidence to discredit the claims of
the Applicants. More so, it is incumbent on the Respondent to annex such
evidence having expressly referred to same in his pleadings. The Court
notes that the denial of family visits while in detention will have a
disproportionate effect on detainees and the aim of reintegration and
rehabilitation.
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