Inmates’ Rights Violations: FG vows to deal with erring officers

Interior Minister, Tunji-Ojo

….Seeks states’ help to relocate prisons

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The Federal Government has vowed to clamp down on personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service NCoS involved in the violation of inmates’ rights, declaring that no officer, regardless of rank, will be spared from disciplinary and legal consequences.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, issued this warning in Abuja on Tuesday during a Stakeholders’ Engagement for the Presentation and Validation of the Final Report of the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption and Inhumane Treatment within the NCoS.

Tunji-Ojo revealed that several senior officers are already facing the consequences of the investigation, which was triggered by the 2024 incident involving cross- dresser Idris “Bobrisky” Okuneye.

He emphasized that the era of “passive observation” regarding systemic rot is over.

“No matter who you are, you are not too big. If you are not too big to commit the crime, then you shouldn’t be too big to face the music.

“Today, a lot of the people who were going through disciplinary procedures are not in the Service but in their homes. When the issue came up in 2024, a very senior officer – an Assistant Controller General ACG who was found culpable – is now at home”, he said.

The minister noted that the panel, inaugurated in November 2024, was a deliberate choice to “distill the issues and accept our mistakes” rather than moving on as if nothing happened.

He stressed that every individual in custody retains their fundamental human dignity, regardless of their offense.

“Changing, repealing the Nigerian Prisons Services Act and re-enacting it as the Nigerian Correctional Services Act in 2019 was not just for the sake of change of name. It was because there was a need for change of orientation.

“A prison always is a place of incarceration. A correctional centre is a place of reformation, restoration, reintegration, and a place of correction”, he said.

Relocation of Urban Prisons

The minister asked states to collaborate with the Federal Government in relocating correctional facilities that have been overtaken by urbanization.

He pointed out that many centree, such as those in Suleja (built in 1914) and Ikoyi (built in 1955), no longer meet international standards, including the mandatory 100-meter buffer zone.

Specifically, the minister cited facilities in Enugu, Abakaliki, Ibadan and Lagos (Ikoyi) as being situated in areas, such as markets or opposite government houses, that necessitate relocation.

He said; “We need the help of the states to be able to collaborate in terms of relocating some of these correctional centers.

“When we share the assets, we should also think of sharing the liabilities. About 90% of these inmates are state offenders, not federal offenders, and 67% are awaiting trial”, he said.

To tackle overcrowding, the minister urged state Attorneys General to work with the Federal Ministry of Justice to activate non-custodial measures, lamenting that the government is still “scratching the surface” of these alternatives despite the 2019 Act.

On inmate welfare, he confirmed that President Bola Tinubu had since approved a 50% increment in feeding allowances, which has already taken effect.

“It is now the responsibility of the civil society and all Nigerians to now hold the Correctional Service accountable for improvement in the feeding of inmates, because Mr President has approved it and the Ministry of Finance has started paying,” he added.

Earlier, the Controller General of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, stated that the panel’s establishment was an act of accountability rather than condemnation.

“Dignity is not forfeited at the point of conviction”, he said, adding that inmates must be well catered for.

While he conceded that some officers had erred in the past, the CGC said; “The majority of my officers serve with dedication. The misdeeds of some must not be permitted to eclipse the sacrifices of the many.”

Also speaking at the event, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, warned that “any shadow of corruption within the walls of the NCoS strikes at the very core of our being,” describing the investigative report as a bold step toward closing systemic gaps.