Yemi Obafemi
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said the present administration has invested significantly in the past two years to improve Nigeria’s correctional facilities.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Thursday, Tunji-Ojo stressed that the Federal Government has been channeling resources to address longstanding challenges in correctional centres across the country.
“This particular administration has done a lot in the last two years in terms of putting resources and trying to make sure that we fix our correctional centres,” he said.
The minister noted that while states are constitutionally permitted to establish their own correctional centres, the majority of inmates are state offenders.
According to him, about 72 per cent of inmates are state offenders, with roughly 67 per cent still awaiting trial, yet the Federal Government bears the cost of their upkeep.
“So it means two-thirds are state offenders, but the Federal Government is the one taking responsibility now,” Tunji-Ojo stated.
The minister emphasised the need for synergy between the Federal Government and state governments to tackle the problem, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s stance is focused on delivering results rather than making excuses.
He said: “I don’t like to shift 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 be able to have a shared strategy towards solving these correctional problems.”
