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Build and Manage Your Correctional Facilities, or Pay to have Your Inmates in Ours, FG tells State governments

Build and Manage Your Correctional Facilities, or Pay to have Your Inmates in Ours, FG tells State governments
By: Michael Mike
The federal government on Thursday told state governments to either build and manage their correctional facilities or pay the cost of keeping their inmates at facilities built by the central government.
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said even though the justice system clearly segments states and federal offenders, the federal government has been the only one in charge of custodial facilities and has to bear the burden of financing them.
He said the federal government can no longer be responsible for correctional management of state offenders, urging state governments to build and manage their own custodial facilities as empowered in the newly amended Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.
He made this known at a two-day High Level Conference on Decongestion and Corrections Administration in Abuja.
He said that Nigeria presently has 244 custodial centres with the bulk of them being in the state capitals and the centres which have a provision for 52,278 inmates, as at Tuesday 9th May 2023 exceeded their limit by over 23,000.
He said: “These facilities are being run by the federal government but it should be noted that the criminal justice system of Nigeria makes provision for state and federal offences, however until the amendment of the Constitution, only the federal government was in charge of custodial centres.
“With the amendment of the Constitution in this regard, states are now empowered to build correctional centres and facilities to house offenders who are convicted and sentenced for committing state offences. Where states are unable to build custodial centres, it is believed that they can suggest ways to collaborate with the federal government in feeding and housing these state offenders.”
The minister noted that the primary objective of the constitution amendment on Corrections assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, is to correct the overcrowding of our custodial centres resulting from a high number of pre-trial detentions, arbitrary arrests.
He said: “Let me make this clear ab initio. When we talk about congestion, this is a phenomenon of the large urban centres in places like Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin, Owerri, Enugu and state capitals in general. The custodial facilities in the not so urban areas are not as overcrowded, with many of them indeed operating below capacity.
“As population grows and society becomes more complex, conflicts in interpersonal relations and challenges of existence will breed more criminal tendencies necessitating incarceration for convicted offenders or those awaiting trial but which the justice system determined are best kept away from society.”
He decried that overcrowding in the custodial centres has led to huge revenue drain for the federal government, being the only party shouldering the responsibility of running and maintaining the custodial centres.
He said: “The amendment of the 1999 Constitution, which has now placed corrections in the concurrent list is therefore a welcomed development.
“This conference is also to bring to the fore applicable laws to aid the reform of the corrections, custodial and non-custodial sentencing. Section 12(4- 12) of the Nigeria Correctional Services Act (NCoS Act) 2019 gives the Nigeria Correctional Service the powers to reject inmates when centres are filled up.
The Minister advised Stakeholders in the criminal justice sector to brainstorm and develop a roadmap for effective management of custodial population and pre-trial detention through the implementation of relevant sections of applicable laws.
In her comment, the Founder and Executive Director of Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, (PRAWA), Dr. Uju Agomoh said for proper reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, the states need to consider taking some form of responsibility like feeding of inmates because there are more state offenders than federal offenders.
“The issue of community corrections is what we must consider because we can correct people also in the society and the overuse of imprisonment is something that we will into especially the putting in place of mechanisms to address it,” she said.
While stressing the importance of the rule of law for peace and tranquillity, Chief Justice of Nigeria, observed that the police is very important in the Administration of justice and must therefore ensure that the process is hitch free.
“The prison system happened to be one of the institutions upon which the rule of law is sounded. I need to make it clear here that as a matter of fact, prosecutors to a very large extent are at the mercy of the police on the success or otherwise of criminal prosecution and this brings to the fore the imperative of cordial,” he said.
He therefore called for better working relationship to fast track justice delivery for pre-trial inmates.
Build and Manage Your Correctional Facilities, or Pay to have Your Inmates in Ours, FG tells State governments
News
Ambassador Mamman hails Buratai’s legacy, urges youth mentorship

Ambassador Mamman hails Buratai’s legacy, urges youth mentorship
By: Zagazola Makama
Ambassador Yusuf Mamman, former Nigerian envoy, has lauded the leadership and reforms of retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, former Chief of Army Staff, describing him as a “soldier’s soldier” whose tenure transformed the Nigerian Army’s doctrine, structure, and innovation.
Mamman, who chaired the public presentation of the book Life Principles for Greatness from the Life of Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, said he accepted the role without hesitation because the work offered lessons for Nigeria’s youth.

He recalled that Buratai rose from a cadet in the Nigerian Defence Academy to become Chief of Army Staff at a time the country faced the existential threat of Boko Haram insurgency.
“He came at a very challenging and difficult time in our national history, when Boko Haram posed the biggest existential threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity since the civil war,” Mamman said.
According to him, Buratai spearheaded deep and profound changes that reshaped military doctrine, operations, and troop welfare, laying the foundation for the ongoing modernisation of the Nigerian Army.
“He never sought to take credit, but his works were very evident and clear. The master plan for the Army’s modernisation we are following today was driven by his vision,” he added.

Mamman also linked Buratai’s example to the need for youth empowerment, noting that Nigeria’s young people are making significant contributions in technology, media, and the creative industry.
“We must give them the enabling environment to harness their creativity for national greatness. Our future relies on the resilience, creativity, and scholarship of our youth,” he said.
The event, held in Abuja Intercontinental Hotel attracted dignitaries including Senior Military Officers, both serving and retired, Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’adua, Chairman Senate Committee on Army, and other prominent Nigerians.
Ambassador Mamman hails Buratai’s legacy, urges youth mentorship
News
Kachalla Alti kills rival bandit kingpin, Dankarami Usaini in Zamfara community

Kachalla Alti kills rival bandit kingpin, Dankarami Usaini in Zamfara community
By: Zagazola Makama
A feared bandit kingpin, Kachalla Alti, has killed a fellow gang leader in Matsuki village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, in what residents described as a deadly supremacy battle.
Zagazola gathered from sources that the incident, which occurred at about 4:45 p.m. on Monday, has left the community tense and largely deserted.
Witnesses said the slain bandit, identified as Dankarami Usaini, 40, a Hausa native of Matsuki, had long operated from the Dangajeru forest, allegedly extorting residents and attacking those who resisted.
According to locals, Dankarami was in the village to collect levies on behalf of Kachalla Alti, the younger brother of notorious armed gang leader, Adamu Alero.
However, discontent had been brewing among residents over the “excessive harassment” by Dankarami. They reportedly reached out to Kachalla Alti to intervene. Kachalla Alti stormed the village with his men and shot Dankarami dead on the spot.
Following the killing, many residents fled to nearby villages, fearing retaliatory attacks from Dankarami’s loyalists.
Local sources said tension remains high, with sporadic gunfire heard in nearby forest routes.
Kachalla Alti kills rival bandit kingpin, Dankarami Usaini in Zamfara community
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Police, hunters search for kidnapped septuagenarian in Gombe

Police, hunters search for kidnapped septuagenarian in Gombe
By: Zagazola Makama
Police in Gombe State, in collaboration with local hunters, have launched a search for a 60-year-old man abducted by gunmen in Funakaye Local Government Area.
Sources said the incident occurred on Tuesday at about 12:30 a.m., when about seven armed men stormed the Ganti area of Abuku village via Ribadu Bajoga and kidnapped one Muhammadu Lawal to an unknown location.
Upon receiving the report from the village head of Bage, a joint team of police operatives and hunters mobilised to comb nearby communities in an effort to rescue the victim unhurt.
The sources said no arrests had been made as of the time of filing this report.
Police, hunters search for kidnapped septuagenarian in Gombe
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