By Palma Ileye
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s commitment to holistic reforms in the Correctional Service.
This was disclosed in a press release issued by Ozoya Imohimi, Director, Press and Public Relations Unit of the Interior Ministry.
Tunji-Ojo who made this assurance at the official launch of the report on the National Assessment of the situation of Children and Young Adults Deprived of Liberty in Abuja, stated that the Nigeria Correctional Service Act of 2019 mandates that issues on juvenile deliquesce be addressed through reforms, rehabilitation, reintegration of offenders into the society.
He said that he was passionate about giving inmates, especially children and young adults a second chance because a minor’s wrong action should not be a setback for their future.
“I’m passionate about giving inmates, especially children and young adults, a second chance, as I strongly believe that a minor action should not be a major setback for his future,” he said.
He decried the high number of Correctional Centres across the country as against the ratio of inmates to the population.
“There are certain questions we need to ask ourselves; like do we need 256 Correctional Centres in Nigeria? When you compare the ratio of inmates to the population, Nigeria is one of the least. We have 84,000 inmates in a country of about 200 million people, so why should we have 256 Correctional Centres? How many armed correctional guards do we have to secure the 256 centres? We need to ask ourselves these questions.”
The Minister said that in the Bobrisky case, it was not going to be business as usual restating that, “We are resolute. By next week the Committee will be ready with the report. My concern is not about Bobrisky, but about my Officers. If any officer is found wanting, he must face the penalty.”