A professor of Sociology and Criminology, Akinyemi Atere, has called for the decentralisation of the management of correctional centres in the country, saying their management should be devolved to states for better efficiency.
He noted that the increased attacks on correctional centres in recent years could not be divorced from the general insecurity, especially the widespread activities of terrorists, in different parts of the country.
Atere said the terrorists would always want to show they were in control as well as protect their members.
He called for a holistic review of how the correctional facilities are managed.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH recently, Atere, whose research area was in Prisonisation, noted, “There are many things we should change in the management of our correctional centres. In terms of security, there should be devolution.
“The question is, how much knowledge will the Minister of Interior, whose office is in Abuja, have of a correctional centre in Ido Ani, Ondo State for example? Whereas if you have a Ministry of Interior in the state, the commissioner there will have a better understanding, in addition to having individuals working at the local government level, who can report to him.
“It is just fair that we do this. To make the facilities truly correctional and put an end to jailbreaks, I think to devolve the management from the federal to the states is a very strong step in this and we cannot run away from it. It has to happen.
“Government has to ensure that in outlook and functionality, the centres are truly correctional. Custodial facilities are expected to be rehabilitative, but in Nigeria they are punitive.
“When you go to some centres and you see some programmes they run, you find that it’s a joke. Quite a number of correctional centres are just pretending to be doing something whereas nothing is being done.”
