Minister of interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has hinted of plans by the ministry to clear the over N500 million fines for about 4,000 inmates over their inability to pay fines slammed on them by judges and magistrates in the various custodial centres nationwide.
The minister, who said the move is to ensure their release is geared towards decongesting the correctional facilities housing inmates in the country.
He lamented that over 70 percent of the total population in the nation’s custodial centres are awaiting trial inmates (ATIs)
Tunji-Ojo made the revelation while reeling out the challenges associated with decongestion and other critical issues bordering on the correctional mandate of his ministry during an exclusive interview on ARISE TV.
While expressing optimism that the number of inmates in facilities would reduce drastically to about 40 percent if non-custodial alternatives as provided for in the Correctional Service Act are adopted, the minister lamented that over 70 percent of the 79,000 inmates were awaiting trial.
This is even as he disclosed that to match his vows with actions, a committee had already been set up to figure out factors responsible for congestion in the country’s correctional centres, as well as how best to reduce the number.
Tunji-Ojo said, “Immediately I assumed office, the first thing I did was to set up a small committee to be able to review the situation of our correctional centres, vis-à-vis the inmates as they are, and we discovered that over 4,000 of these inmates, as I have said before, are still in custody due to inability to pay fines.
He however, explained that beyond decongesting the prisons, the ministry, under his watch, is majorly tasked with securing Nigeria’s borders, and to this effect, would put the necessary tools on ground for maximum result.
On how he will secure the country’s borders, he said, “I have been able to set up a committee also on an inter-agency committee, because it’s not what only one agency can do. For instance, I will give you an example, NIMC is very key, and that’s why I’m so grateful to this particular government for bringing NIMC back to the interior because I cannot defend who I don’t know. NIMC is the custodian of our identity, NIMC tells me who you are, so, that’s the foundation of our security. It’s the foundation of our internal security.”
