Starvation hits delta prisons over alleged N5.6bm debt owe contractors by FG

Two years after the federal government announced the increment in the feeding allowance of prison inmates prisoners serving various jail terms as well as those awaiting trial now face the threat of starvation following the non-payment of over N5.6 billion outstanding debt owed contractors for the food supplied inmates in person nationwide.

The federal government had in January 2015 increased feeding allowance for prison inmates from N200 to N300 per prisoner per day, excluding the allowance for gas which is N150 per inmate per day. By this development, the total provision for feeding prisoners in Nigerian prisons stood at N450 per prisoner per day.

The said amount, N5.6 billion , it was gathered, covered ration and gas supplies. Statistics had shown that as at March 6, 2017, Nigeria’s total inmate population stood at 68,259 with 46,351 awaiting trial, and the remaining 21,903 convicted.
Investigation further revealed that while some contractors were reportedly paid in the months of January and February, 2015, payments from March-December 2015 and the entire 2016 are still outstanding.

While reacting to the development, an advocacy group, “Alliance for Good Governance and Democracy” expressed concern over the N5.6 billion outstanding monies owned contractors for their services. The group, in a statement jointly signed by its national coordinator and national secretary, Comrade Shadrack Nwokolo, and Jimi Sanwo, respectively, said that after thorough investigations of the state and conditions of prisons nationwide, “we discovered that contractors responsible for food supplies are being owned huge sum of monies for the services they rendered to the Nigeria Prisons Service for over two years.”

The group which called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the matter insisted that the current feeding allowance of inmates is now grossly inadequate following the astronomic rise in the prices of food items.

But in Ogwashi-Uku and Agbor Prisons, sources said the inmates allegedly suffer untold hardship of starvation, especially when it becomes clear that Federal government allegedly owed contractors supplying them food huge sums of money. Insiders squealed that inmates in various prisons in the state currently depend in most cases on manual jobs with the supervision of the prisons’ officials.

Unofficial statement alleged that apart from menial jobs they engaged in to eke survivals, prisons officials are also alleged to be “subjecting” relations of the inmates to parting with some money before gaining across to their serving inmates. While inmates in these prisons are alleged to be facing serious hardship and “real punishments” in the hands of the officials, it was gathered that during nightfall the inmates shout themselves down severely until they are attended to by the officials.

In swift reaction, (Agbor and Ogwashi-Uku) officials who did not want their names in the print dispelled starvation including extortion allegation as untrue, saying that they cannot speak further on the alleged unpaid debt by FG. They said we can’t speak to you but all we can say is that the inmates here are not facing any challenges.”