About 67% of inmates in correctional facilities across Nigeria are currently awaiting trial, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has revealed.
Speaking during an appearance on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television on Thursday, the minister emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between federal and state governments to improve the nation’s correctional system.
“We can work out a synergy. States that want to have their own correctional centres are legally entitled to do so, and so is the federal government,” Tunji-Ojo said.
“But we must also understand that about 72% of our inmates are state offenders, and around 67% are awaiting trial. That means two-thirds are state offenders, yet it is the Federal Government that bears the responsibility.”
Despite pointing out the imbalance, Tunji-Ojo refrained from assigning blame, echoing the stance of President Bola Tinubu.
“I don’t like to shift blame. As Mr. President always says, ‘We were elected to produce results, not to make excuses.’ So we’re not here to make excuses. Instead, we will work with our governors to develop a shared strategy for addressing the challenges in our correctional system.”
In a related effort to decongest overcrowded correctional centres, the minister noted that the Federal Government had released 4,550 inmates in July. This was part of a targeted review focusing on those held for minor, bailable offences or with unduly prolonged incarceration.
Tunji-Ojo reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to overhauling correctional facilities across the country, despite the deteriorating conditions many centres were in when President Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
“But I need to put it on record that this administration has done a lot in the last two years in terms of investing resources and making efforts to fix our correctional centres,” he stated.
His comments come just days after 16 inmates escaped from the Keffi Custodial Centre in Nasarawa State, after overpowering security personnel. Some of the escapees were later recaptured, but the incident adds to the growing list of jailbreaks recorded in Nigeria in recent years.
