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Aregbesola: FG Spends Over N1million on Inmate Per Annum

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Aregbesola: FG Spends Over N1million on Inmate Per Annum

By: Michael Mike

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has revealed that the federal government spends a little over a million Naira annually to maintain each of the inmates kept in custodial facilities across the country.

Speaking at the commissioning a 20-bed COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund Hospital and Equipment at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Saturday, Aregbesola lamented that the challenges of running correctional services are enormous, with huge demands for infrastructure, equipment and maintaining the welfare of inmates.

He however assured that the federal government has provided long term solution to the challenge of running the centres, while revealing that the government at the centre spends N1,065,790 on maintaining each inmate per annum, reiterating his earlier announcement that the government will stop feeding inmates who are state offenders by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Minister restated the commitment of the federal government to the welfare of inmates and officers at the custodial facilities nationwide.

On the commissioned project, Aregbesola said it will be an enduring legacy and a testimony of the utmost importance the federal government has taken corrections and the welfare of inmates and the well-being of staff.

Aregbesola stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has addressed the problem of inmates contracting diseases in custodial centres, as the inmates at the custodial centres now have access to excellent medical care beyond the centres.

He said: “The custodial centres were frighteningly centres for contracting diseases like scabies and tuberculosis, among others. Happily, this has been addressed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and is now a thing of the past. We do not only have well-manned clinics and well stocked pharmacies, the inmates at the custodial centres now have access to excellent medical cares beyond the centres.”

He lamented the overcrowding of custodial facilities across the country, he said: “This Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Port Harcourt, with a capacity for 1,800 inmates, presently houses about 3,067 inmates. This is just a reflection of the situation in most urban Custodial Centres where we have congestion at the moment. The facilities and even the personnel are overstretched, but we are coping and providing long term solutions to this challenge.

“One of such solutions is the construction of mega 3,000-capacity custodial villages in six geo-political zones of the country. The one for the South-South is in Bori, not far from here in Rivers State. The ones for the North West in Janguza, Kano and the North Central, in Karshi Abuja are ready. Hopefully, we shall commission the one in Kano in a few days, before our departure, even as work is steadily going on in the others and has reached appreciable level.

“Let me also reiterate that the Federal Government will stop feeding inmates incarcerated for breaching state laws. As you commence your budget process for next year, include feeding of your inmates.”

Ogbeni Aregbesola added that the hospital, like several others, including the one commissioned in Osun last week, was built from the Covid-19 Crisis Special Intervention Fund of the Federal Government, and will go a long way in addressing the medical concerns of inmates and Correctional Service personnel as well.

While commending the management and staff of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for working hard to keep the virus away, he restated that the new hospital is a unique intervention aimed at making robust healthcare for those in custody as well as staff members, a pleasant reality.

“We celebrate how the NCoS, through professional responsiveness and hard work, triumphed over the COVID-19 pandemic, coming out clean without a single case of the virus finding its way into any of our custodial centres. On this, we were able to best even the most advanced countries whose custodial centres were thriving ground for Covid-19 incubation and transmission, with deaths running into thousands.

“Of significant note is the fact that all of these interventions in consonance with other reforms in the NCoS will obviously translate to security, peace and tranquillity in and around our Custodial Centres and ultimately for our country.”

Aregbesola commended the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, for the good work he is doing and the quality leadership he is providing at the Service. He also encouraged him and his management team to sustain the tempo of progress and do more to actualise the noble provisions of the NCoS Act, 2019.

On his part, the Controller General, Haliru Nababa thanked the federal government for its support to the Service, saying the facility will take care of the needs of the inmate, staff and the host community alike.

He said: “As a Service, Inmates’ welfare is not only a matter of priority but a statutory responsibility that is key to the general peace and tranquillity experienced all over our custodial centre.

“This hospital that we are commissioning today will go a long way in helping the service fulfill its statutory responsibility to the inmate, the staff and the host community,” the CG stated.

Speaking on behalf of the host community, Council Chairman of the Bunduama Community, Evangelist Dasika George thanked the Minister for the hospital and the opportunity given to members of the community to benefit from its services, declaring him the ‘best minister’ of the Buhari administration.

He said: “We thank our performing minister, in fact, the best minister in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for citing this project in our community and giving us the privilege to use it as well. We thank you, but please don’t stop here.

“We still need water, electricity transformers, adequate street, adequate drainage system amongst other social amenities.”

Aregbesola: FG Spends Over N1million on Inmate Per Annum

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RHI Flow With Confidence program Launched across Nigeria

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RHI Flow With Confidence program Launched across Nigeria

“Don’t Allow Shame or Stigma Affect Your Confidence” – Senator Oluremi Tinubu to School Girls at the Launch of Flow With Confidence Program in Maiduguri, Borno State

By: Our Reporter

The Flow With Confidence program, a vital menstrual health intervention, is designed to empower schoolgirls with knowledge, build confidence, and promote improved menstrual hygiene. The initiative targets 370,000 beneficiaries, mostly from rural communities who struggle to access hygienic care while in school.

Launched simultaneously in seven states – Borno, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kebbi, and Lagos – by the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the program provides each beneficiary with a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads.

At the official launch in Maiduguri, the First Lady was represented by the Wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima. She stressed that it is unacceptable for young girls to face significant challenges during their menstrual cycle, often forcing them to miss school days because they cannot afford sanitary pads.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu noted that many girls resort to unhygienic alternatives, hence the introduction of Flow With Confidence as a safe, hygienic option to enhance reproductive wellbeing. Each state under the initiative will have 10,000 beneficiaries.

Encouraging the girls, the First Lady urged them not to allow shame or stigma to affect their confidence but to boldly pursue their dreams as future leaders of the nation. She further called on corporate organizations and well-meaning individuals to support the program, while charging traditional, religious, and community leaders to ensure transparent distribution in their localities.

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, represented by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Umar Usman Kadafur, expressed the government’s profound appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose leadership continues to rekindle hope and restore dignity to countless families by prioritizing economic empowerment as a driver of national development.

The Governor also commended the First Lady for addressing an often-neglected aspect of girls’ and women’s dignity and reproductive health.

Similarly, the Borno State RHI Coordinator and Wife of the Governor, Dr. Falmata Umara Zulum, lauded the First Lady’s commitment to caring for the most vulnerable in society through her numerous interventions under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), complementing the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Meanwhile, the First Lady also handed over assorted food items to the Borno State RHI Coordinator, Dr. Falmata Babagana Zulum, for onward distribution to vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities. This places Borno among the beneficiaries of the monthly RHI Food Outreach Scheme, flagged off in March 2024 with support from two leading industrialists.

RHI Flow With Confidence program Launched across Nigeria

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Fagbemi Calls for Appellate Mechanism in ECOWAS Court

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Fagbemi Calls for Appellate Mechanism in ECOWAS Court

…Insists Absence of Appellate Court at Regional Level Undermines Access to Justice

By: Michael Mike

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi has called for the establishment of an appellate mechanism within the ECOWAS Court of Justice, stating that the absence of such mechanism continued to undermine access to justice in the region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2025/2026 legal year of ECOWAS Court, Fagbemi said while the finality of judgments is crucial, fairness also demands that decisions be open to review in order to correct possible errors of law or procedure.

Fagbemi while noting that the absence of appellate court at the regional level is a letdown, said: “It is concerning that there is currently inadequate room for appeal against the judgments of the ECOWAS Court. While finality is important, justice must also be seen to be fair and revisable,” insisting that: “The absence of a separate appellate mechanism limits access to justice. As we expand the Court’s reach, we must also ensure that its decisions are subject to the same standards of review and accountability that underpin robust judicial systems.”

He urged the Court to draw lessons from other regional judicial institutions such as the European Court of Human Rights, the East African Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which, according to him, offer valuable models of transparency, judicial independence and procedural innovation.

He however restated Nigeria’s support for the ECOWAS Court as host country, describing it as central to regional integration, human rights enforcement and stability. “Nigeria remains steadfast in its support for the ECOWAS Court of Justice… I pledge to continue advocating for legal reforms that align domestic laws with regional obligations while respecting our constitutional order and national interests,” Fagbemi added.

Also speaking, the President of Cabo Verde, José Neves, said community justice remains vital for Africa’s credibility in global affairs. He stressed that strengthening institutions such as the ECOWAS Court was essential for peace, democracy and integration on the continent.

He said: “In a continent still marked by border disputes and recurring tensions, the existence of an independent and respected community tribunal is a civilisational triumph that we must preserve and enhance,” Neves said. He noted that access to the Court by individual citizens was one of the most significant gains of regional integration, as it brings justice closer to the people.

Neves also called for reforms within African sub-regional bodies to make them more effective in addressing contemporary challenges such as insecurity, institutional fragility, migration and climate change.

In his address, the President of the ECOWAS Court, Justice Ricardo Goncalves, disclosed that the Court handled 34 new cases in the past year, including matters relating to civil and political rights, economic freedoms, and disputes between member states.

He also revealed that the Court held 79 judicial sessions and issued 54 rulings, many of which reaffirmed key principles such as the justiciability of socio-economic rights and the supremacy of community law over conflicting national legislation. According to him, 112 cases are currently pending before the Court.

Fagbemi Calls for Appellate Mechanism in ECOWAS Court

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Trans-Border Security: Zulum travels to Niger Republic Community

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Trans-Border Security: Zulum travels to Niger Republic Community

By: Michael Mike

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum on Wednesday, undertook a working visit to Diffa Region of Niger Republic on Wednesday.

The visit, which included a high-level security and economic delegation, focused on strengthening the existing collaboration between Nigerian and Nigerien forces in the ongoing fight against insurgency, particularly around the shores of Lake Chad.

Diffa is a community 17 km from Damasak town in northern Borno where thousands of Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram insurgency are currently taking refuge.

Zulum was received by the Governor of Diffa, Brigadier General Mahamaduo Ibrahim Bagadoma, and other senior officials. The leaders held closed-door meetings centered on joint patrols, intelligence sharing, and sustaining the recent gains that have pushed insurgents out of many of their former strongholds.

Zulum outlined plan to leverage the improved security situation to facilitate the return of thousands of displaced farmers to the vast and fertile agricultural lands around Dutchi town within the Lake Chad basin.

Part of the Governor’s entourage are Engr Bukar Talba, a member of the House of Representatives, Speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, and otheir senior government officials.
[10/2, 6:35 PM] Mike Olugbode: Maiduguri: For Over a Month, MSF Responds to High Numbers of Children Suffering from Malnutrition.

Since late August and early September, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have scaled up their medical response in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, following a sharp rise in malnutrition cases that overwhelmed MSF-supported facilities. Although admissions have slightly decreased now, the number of children receiving treatment remains very high.

“A month ago, we witnessed a worrying increase in admissions, compounded by a surge in measles cases,” said MSF Project Coordinator Daniela Batista. “Our isolation units for measles patients were quickly filled, and even the additional space we opened reached capacity. Now, those units remain around 70 percent full.”

Since 8 September, MSF’s Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ITFC) at Nilefa Kiji Hospital (NKH) has nearly doubled its bed capacity to accommodate the influx of malnourished children. By the third week of September, the emergency facility was recording an average of more than 85 new admissions daily.
In a context of reduced global humanitarian funding, some organizations in Maiduguri reduced their support for – or even left – nutritional outpatient nutrition programmes, causing a significant drop in access for first line care fir malnourished children.
 
At MSF’s extension facility in Shuwari, teams treated 3,265 children for malnutrition and referred 1,521 others for continued care between August and early September, when the upsurge began. More than 625 malnourished children have also been treated for measles — a disease which can contribute to malnutrition and whose complications can result from malnutrition.
 
The situation is further exacerbated by shortages of essential supplies. Therapeutic milk — critical for treating severe acute malnutrition — is in short supply, while access to ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) remains a chronic concern. Some partner ITFCs have indicated they can only accept referrals if MSF provides additional medical supplies such as antibiotics, admission kits, and therapeutic milk.
MSF teams also reported regular admissions of patients from Zabarmari — a community they are currently unable to access due to security and logistical challenges. MSF is engaging with the Borno State Ministry of Health to assess and potentially support the local Primary Health Centre (PHC) to ensure residents can access care.

Borno State continues to face the effects of a decade-long insurgency, with recent reports of violence in areas surrounding Maiduguri.

This surge in Maiduguri mirrors an alarming trend seen in all MSF nutrition facilities across Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi in recent months. According to UN estimates, 2.5 million children across northeast Nigeria are at risk of acute malnutrition.

MSF called on health authorities and humanitarian organizations to urgently address the shortages in medical supplies and staffing, and to strengthen community-level health systems to prevent further deterioration.

Trans-Border Security: Zulum travels to Niger Republic Community

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