The Federal Government is to spend N22.44 billion in 2023 on feeding 75,507 inmates in prisons spread in 244 jails nationwide.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Shuaib Belgore, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at a two-day high-level conference on corrections and decongestion of prisons, explaining that the fund was budgeted for in the 2023 Appropriation Act.
According to him, 70% of the inmates were awaiting trial, attributing it to arbitrary arrests, delay in dispensing justice, and inability to meet bail conditions, leading to congestion of 82 prisons across the country.
“The total number of male inmates is 73,821, and 1,686 are female inmates. Out of the 75,507 inmates, 52,436 are awaiting trial, while 23,071 are convicted persons, with 3,322 as condemned inmates on death row. The federal government budgeted N22.44 billion in the 2023 appropriation to cater for the feeding of inmates,” said the permanent secretary. “Failure to take action to decongest the custodial centers will come at a cost.”
“Prison overcrowding has led to a huge revenue drain for the regime, including the dilapidation of prisons, criminalization of society, and the inability to separate awaiting trial inmates from convicted ones,” he said.
Belgore stressed the need for holistic reform of the country’s correction system, including redesigning the bail system, building new facilities, and modernizing custodial centers for appropriate reformation and rehabilitation of inmates.
“I am of the view that the discourse at this conference should allocate more time to address speedy dispensation of justice to reduce the number of inmates awaiting trial. Since the ministry of Interior works tirelessly to accomplish the goal of achieving a greater reduction of the number of inmates across our custodial centers, we are determined to ensure that the correctional facilities provide not just a decent accommodation”.
“We also ensure that inmates acquire skills and knowledge to advance their integration into society when they eventually regain freedom,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola said the nation must take proactive steps to ensure that the police apply technology and professionalism in carrying out investigations to mark words to action.
The convener of the conference and Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said the stakeholders must garner the political will to ensure that people who have no business being in custodial centers do not get there by using alternative punishment rather than imprisonment.
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