COVID-19: NGO back FG on prison decongestion
A non-governmental organization, Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI-Nigeria) on Monday urged state governors to prevail on the comptrollers of correctional centres within their domains to exercise their powers under the Correctional Service Act 2019, Section 12 (8) to decongest the centres so as to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Executive Director of the organization, Mr. Mbami Sabka stated this while reacting to recent directives by the federal government that state governments should release 70 per cent of all awaiting trial inmates under the custody of correctional centres in their various states.
Sabka, who described the directive as a welcome development, noted that reports indicate that awaiting trial inmates account for 70 per cent of the detainees in correctional centres.
“Following the directive, PIDI-Nigeria is compelled to call on all state controllers of the Nigeria Correctional Centres to exercise their powers as enshrined in Section 12 (8) of the Act to decongest the facilities by notifying the state attorneys general to curtail any possibility of COVID-19 outbreak in such centres,” the executive director said.
“It was also reported that the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who gave the directive on behalf of the President said the move is to prevent the ravaging coronavirus from spreading into the correctional centres,” Sabka pointed out.
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“The law in Section 12(8) has already empowered the comptroller of correctional service to reject additional inmates above facility under their watch.
“So, we will be forced to seek redress in the courts if the comptrollers who have been given the constitutional powers to do the needful failed to exercise such powers”.
“For instance, proper audit has revealed that nearly, if not, more than half of Bauchi Correctional Centre’s (prison) population ought not to be in prison in the first place and therefore, ought to be released.”
