The minister’s comments came days after 16 inmates escaped from the Keffi custodial centre in Nasarawa State, underscoring ongoing security challenges.
The Federal Government has disclosed that about 67 per cent of inmates in correctional facilities across Nigeria are awaiting trial, with the majority being state offenders housed in federally managed centres.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made the revelation during an interview on Politics Today, aired on Channels Television on Thursday, August 14, stressing the need for closer collaboration between federal and state governments to improve correctional services.
“We can work out a synergy; states that want to have their own correctional centres, by law, they’re entitled to have it and the federal government too.
“But we must also understand that about 72 per cent of our inmates are state offenders and about 67 per cent or so are awaiting trials. So it means two-thirds are state offenders, but the Federal Government is the one taking responsibility now,” he said.
While noting the disproportionate burden on federal facilities, Tunji-Ojo rejected the notion of shifting blame.
“As Mr President will always say, ‘We were elected to produce results, not to make excuses.’ So we’re not here to make excuses, but as a government, we will interface with our governors. We will come together to have a shared strategy towards solving these correctional problems.”
In July, the minister announced the release of 4,550 offenders in a decongestion exercise that focused on those held for minor, bailable offences and inmates with prolonged incarceration.
He reiterated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration remains committed to repositioning correctional centres despite the poor state in which they were inherited in 2023.ADVERTISEMENT
“This particular administration has done a lot in the last two years in terms of putting resources into fixing our correctional centres,” he added.
The minister’s comments came days after 16 inmates escaped from the Keffi custodial centre in Nasarawa State, underscoring ongoing security challenges.
Some of the escapees were later recaptured.
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