The soap supplied to them was too acidic. Sometimes they would wait for two to three months before they would get soap. "Two of us had been on remand for six years. After the other one paid money, he was released," one sorrowful prisoner narrated his ordeal. Civil Servants Cell There were 8 inmates here. Each of them had a mat and sufficient sleeping room. The longest remand period here was 3 years 2 months. T.B., pneumonia and anaemia bothered them. They contributed to disinfect the cell and buy other things they needed. They either paid for the medication required to treat their diseases, or it was paid for by religious organisations. "If you are sick and you do not have money, you are condemned to death." "All my family members are in the south, and so I have had no visitor," were other complaints noted by the SR. Before my departure, an inmate asked me to pray for them. With my back turned to the inmates and the Director of Prisons emerging to accompany me outside the prison, he asked: "What have you done to them?" Perplexed by this unexpected question, I turned back to look at the prisoners. They all beamed with smile. "I only prayed for them," was my response to the question. The SR noted that even in the courtyard, there was congestion. A second surprise was hearing two of the inmates speaking in my mother tongue, Twi. One had lived in Ghana and the other had a Ghanaian mother. Recommendation to the Director of the Prison: Please release the women early for their bath. Director: Women are let out of their cell before the men, and the former's doors are also closed last to ensure segregation in the use of the toilet and bath facilities. The New Prison in Natitingou A new prison had been built, with financial assistance from France. It was ..opened in April 1998 but had not been used because of serious cracks detected in the walls. Opinion leaders in the town, including a former President, 40 protested against transferring prisoners into the newly built prison because of the structural defects. Furthermore, built outside the town, access to the new prison was difficult. But budgetary allocation had been made to tackle the two problems. The prison has a section each for men, women and juveniles. Facility has been provided for the sick. Guards are catered for within this big complex. If the intended 600 prisoners were to be housed here, the problems of congestion and inadequate sanitary facilities noted in the old prison would rear their ugly heads. It is a pity that no provision was made for elementary education for the prisoners. Equally, it is a matter of regret that provision was not made for a workshop or similar activity for the future inmates. Although a large tract of land surrounds the prison, I was informed that there were no plans for gardening or farming by the prisoners because of security considerations. But this decision should be reviewed and appropriate security measures adopted to make utilisation of the land by the prisoners possible for its undoubted advantages: the food for the prisoners could be supplemented with produce from the farm; they would not be kept in cells for long hours and the budget for the prison could be reduced, for instance. The saved money could be usefully spent in other areas of the prison regime. While we are on a new prison, it is recalled that near Porto Novo, a huge prison complex was under construction. When completed, it would ease the congestion in prisons considerably. It is noteworthy that this is being carried out with funds from the central government of Benin. Brigade de Gendarmerie Territoriale, Natitingou here was no cell at the station. One suspect was writing his statement on our arrival. He was brought here on Thursday, and would be put before the Tribunal on Monday, an infringement of the 48 hour rule. T The suspect complained that he had not bathed since Thursday, and had also been bitten badly by mosquitoes in the night. He had not been physically assaulted by the guards, although he had been the victim of verbal abuse by the same officials. 41