Colonialism left Nigeria with a brutal criminal justice system: 62% of prisoners in Nigeria are awaiting trial, some for many years that they will never get "credit" for; bribery of police and prison guards is entrenched because government paychecks are erratic; prisoners are routinely malnourished, beaten, and tortured; women relatives of suspects are incarcerated as "insurance" when the suspect cannot be found; and, perhaps most Kafka-esque of all, if your file gets lost you cannot be released. Guest editor Viviane Salah-Hanna worked in Nigeria as a prisoners' rights activist for two years and brings back the stories of some of the prisoners and ex-prisoners she met, as well as her own experiences and analyses.