By Francis Wilfred
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Interior Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed that 4082 minor offenders who were imprisoned for inability to pay fines have been released to save N1 billion annually and to reduce congestion of inmates in our correctional centres across the country.
The Minister who disclosed this during the annual Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, also revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved an increase of 50% in the feeding allowance of inmates.
The Minister also stated that President Tinubu has equally approved the relocation of over 29 correctional centres that are within residential areas due to urbanization and that correctional centres should be located at about 100 metres away from residential buildings.
He cited instances with the correctional centre in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State located opposite the Government House, while Suleja Prison located within the community.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo noted that over 3,000 inmates have been rehabilitated within the last six months so that they will fit into the society after release. He also added that over 240 correctional centres have been renovated, some of these centres were built over 50 years ago, while the Suleja centre was built in 1914.
The Minister noted that in recent years our correctional centres were operating without databases. Due to that, it was difficult to track inmates that escaped during Suleja jailbreak but two months later in partnership with NIMC it was easy by their biometrics to get the inmates.
He, however, noted that the ministry had put in place a proactive policing system, which made it possible for the inmates in Suleja Prison who escaped after a heavy flood felled their fence to be rearrested within 48 hours.
“All these are President Tinubu’s good reforms and If we know where we were, we will appreciate where we are,” he said.
He also stated that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has recorded two jailbreaks and no jail attacks due to our collaboration with other security agencies and that
The minister said that the ministry in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals has established a Mining Marshal to sanitise the mining industry, where a lot of revenue is being lost illegally.
As such, over 2,125 illegal mining sites have been destroyed, and the NSCDC has trained over 10,000 Agro Rangers for the agriculture sector.
The Agro Rangers unit aims to safeguard farmlands, protect farmers from attacks, mediate conflicts between farmers and herders, and prevent the malicious destruction of farmlands.
The initiative is a partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
On internal security, the minister pointed out that the administration inherited a situation where internal security was manned by the military, whereas it is the function of the paramilitaries except when it is beyond them.
This was possible because the paramilitary was not well equipped and trained. The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration approved that the paramilitary officers are trained and equipped to function properly.
