With the kind of things we hear in this country, it appears we need more than prayers from White Witches and Wizards Association.
Someone just needs to press the reset button. Let’s just start afresh.
How do you explain to someone that people sent to a correctional facility to get correction are now assisting in correcting an abnormality there? In fact, you don’t need to visit a Nigerian prison or correctional centre, as it is now officially known, to know that all is not well. From the entrance gate, you can count on one finger all the things that need to be fixed.
But the one that ‘off me’ kpata kpata is the report about inmates contributing money to buy fuel to power generator. Ah! Shey you dey whine me ni?
I doubted the report o, until I read the full gist to discover that it was the Public Complaint Commission (PCC) that was complaining on behalf of the inmates.
E reach to complain na because why not? The Ministry of Interior submits its annual budget and there is provision for feeding in it. In fact, the federal government had proposed to spend over N22 billion on the supply of catering materials and foodstuffs for the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) in 2023. So, how come inmates are supporting a correctional centre with ‘fuel money’. How did they even get the money?
Are the warders aware of their source of income? Is it that the custodial centre does not receive allocated funds from the Ministry of Interior? Many questions begging for answers.
It looks like it is not the first time this ‘free will’ donation is happening. Even from the pictures in circulation, I don’t think any inmate can get a meaningful correction in a moribund and abandoned place.
According to the report, a PCC federal commissioner, Mike Uzodimma, said inmates in the Owerri correctional centre are dwelling in crowded cells without proper maintenance.
He also said the situation at the centre has caused many avoidable deaths, and disease outbreaks, particularly skin and respiratory conditions. Lack of access to skills acquisition programmes for inmates is another matter.
The Ministry of Interior should carry out investigations into these reports and ensure that the welfare of inmates aligns with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Offenders.
