The organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Bamidele Atoyebi, made the call on Tuesday in a statement, following a visitation to the Ikoyi Prison Correctional Centre, Lagos, in an award event organised by the Nigerian Correctional Service, Medium Security Custodial Center, while commending officials of the facilities and called for upgraded service delivery to inmates.
The Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, had in December 2023 admitted before the joint National Assembly Committee on Interior that dogs are fed better than inmates at the nation’s correctional facilities
He said, “The Nigeria Correctional Service has written the Minister of Interior requesting for the review of the amount we are using to feed the inmates from N750 per day to N3,000 per day. We are still waiting for the approval.
“We are therefore seeking the assistance of the National Assembly to approve the increment.
“We have made provision for the feeding of inmates, dogs and staff on training in six training institutions across the country. The money is grossly inadequate. The total number of inmates in 2023 is 81, 354 nationwide while 53, 352 are awaiting trial. The budget for feeding each of them per day is N750 at N250 per meal, per inmate.”
While urging the Federal Government to address the issue, Atoyebi said, “This is a call to the Federal Government to provide support for inmates across the country to improve their lives.
“This support includes water, a clean environment, improved infrastructural building and many more. There is a need for government to enhance the living of the inmates.”
Atoyebi further commended the collaborative efforts with the Ikoyi Prison Correctional Centre which had resulted and yielded positive outcomes.
“I want to acknowledge the collaborative efforts of our organization that have resulted in significant positive changes within the Ikoyi Correctional Center through the Prosocial Care for Stranded initiative and with the partnership of the Deputy Controller and all the dedicated staff at Ikoyi Prison, Ikoyi Correctional Centre has witnessed a remarkable impact on the lives of inmates and the overall improvement of the prison,” he added.
In December 2023, the Federal Government announced that it had raised N585m towards the settlement of fines for inmates in a bid to decongest correctional centres across the country
