FG Writes To Governors Over Plan To Decongest Prisons Nationwide
Category: Nigeria News
Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, has written to the Nigerian
Governors Forum to request a meeting in order to decongest jails around the
country.
This was made known to Punch correspondent by the
Minister’s Media Adviser, Sola Fasure, on Tuesday.
In exactly one
month, Aregbesola stated he would meet with state governors to agree on the
mass release of at least 30 per cent of convicts from correctional facilities
across the country.
The minister said that the interface was
necessary as more than 90 per cent of the inmates were being held for
contravening various state laws, noting that over 70 per cent of the 75,635
inmates at present were awaiting trial.
He said that the federal
offenders in the system were far fewer than 10 per cent, adding that the bulk
of people in custody were those who had run afoul of state laws.
Aregbesola said that they were therefore being kept under the
legal jurisdiction of their respective states.
The minister added
that the decongestion of the 253 custodial centres nationwide was necessary as
some of the inmates have no reason to remain in custody.
However,
speaking on the action taken by the minister, Fasure said, “The minister has
written to the Governors Forum, but he has not met with them because they will
have to communicate with him and give him a date.
“He wrote to them
with the request that he wants to meet with them, but he is yet to get a
response. In other words, the meeting has not been held.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Tuesday revealed that over
12,000 inmates were released from various correctional centres across the
country within the last six years in line with the policy of prison
decongestion.
But, please FG start with the terrorists.......start with inmates with minor offences.......and gradually you progress....
ReplyDeleteFor them to disturb next year's elections?.
ReplyDelete