Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has revealed that over 4000 inmates are currently held in custodial centres across the country due to their inability to pay fines imposed on them by judges and magistrates.
The minister further expressed concern that more than 70% of the total population in the nation’s custodial centres are awaiting trial, as stated in a statement on Saturday by the minister’s Media Adviser, Alao Babatunde.
He suggested that the number of inmates in correctional facilities could be reduced by 40% if non-custodial alternatives, as provided for in the Correctional Service Act, were utilized.
The minister’s comments were made during a meeting with Samuela Isopi, the Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria, at his office in Abuja.
Tunji-Ojo stated, “Over 70 percent of the 79,000 inmates are awaiting trial. We have over 4000 inmates in the facilities for their inability to pay various fines.
“We believe we can reduce the number of inmates in our correctional facilities by about forty percent if we explore non-custodial alternatives as provided for in the Correctional Service Act.”
He also called on the EU to support Nigeria in deploying technology to enhance border management within the country.
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“If we are able to solve crime and migration problems in Nigeria, Africa will be better for it,” he said.
The minister further urged the EU to support the Federal Government’s plan to audit all correctional centres. He noted that his ministry was working on key reforms, particularly in areas of travel documentation processes and knowledge transfer.
“We have commenced the process to unbottle the bottlenecks in our international passport application and collection process. Today, we have made huge progress.
“We are also working on ways to reduce identity theft. We want to make sure the green passport regains its pride and integrity,” he added.
In response, Ambassador Isopi assured Minister Tunji-Ojo of the EU’s support and noted that they would provide technical assistance in managing illegal migration as well as curbing human trafficking and people smuggling.