Aregbesola: States now empowered by law to build, manage correctional centres

Rauf Aregbesola, the minister of interior, says state governments are now mandated by law to build and manage correctional facilities.

On March 17, President Muhammadu Buhari signed 16 constitutional amendment bills, including the redesignation of correctional services in the concurrent legislative list.

Matters on “prisons” used to be a prerogative of the federal government.

Speaking at a two-day conference on decongestion and corrections management in Abuja, Aregbesola said the constitutional amendment has also empowered states to make provisions for the feeding and accommodation of inmates.

“This simply means that states which do not have correctional facilities would have to pay the federal government for the feeding and accommodation of their inmates,” he said.

“Until the amendment of the constitution, only the federal government was in charge of custodial centres.

“With the amendment of the constitution, states are now empowered to build correctional centres and facilities to house offenders convicted and sentenced for committing state offences.

“Where states cannot build custodial centres, it is believed that they can suggest ways to collaborate with the federal government in feeding and housing these state offenders.”

TheCable had reported that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) said that 52,446 out of the 75,436 inmates in custody across the nation, were awaiting trial and  overstretching the facilities.

Gimba Dumbulwa, an assistant controller general of the service, had said some of the inmates have been at the facilities without trial for over 10 years.