sanctions meted out to officers. (n) Victims of torture and illtreatment should receive substantial compensation proportionate to the gravity of the physical and mental harm suffered, as well as adequate medical treatment and rehabilitation The government could not provide evidence of any compensation awarded to the victims. (o) The declaration should be made with respect to article 22 of the Convention against Torture recognizing the competence of the Committee against Torture to receive and consider communications from individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention Nigeria has not recognized the competence of the Committee against Torture to receive communications from individuals under article 22 of CAT. (p) The release of nonviolent offenders from confinement in pre-trial detention facilities should be expedited, beginning especially with the most vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly, and those requiring medical treatment subject to noncustodial measures (i.e. The vast majority of detainees are held pending their trial or without charge for as long as 10 years. crimes. In some cases, courts have awarded compensation to be paid to victims of torture. However, the ordered payments are still pending. Non-governmental sources: There has been no reported case of compensation awarded or the state providing rehabilitation to victims of torture. The Federal Ministry of Justice has embarked on a prison “decongestion” scheme. However, no tangible results in terms of numbers of people held in pretrial detention have been achieved so far. There is a policy in place focusing especially on the release of members of vulnerable groups. Non-governmental sources: The impact of the prison decongestant scheme is yet to be observed. Several states have commuted sentences or released detainees under amnesties. However this is not done as a matter of A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 138 Special Rapporteur urges the Government to thoroughly investigate all allegations contained in appendix I to the present report with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice