Comptroller Laments 1,981 Inmates Overstretching Prison Facilities

The Assistant Comptroller of Corrections (ACC), Ezekiel Inyang, has lamented that prison facilities accommodating no fewer than 1,981 inmates have been overstretched.

He regretted that the correctional facility, which houses 1,981 inmates comprising 96 females, 64 convicts on death row, 782 awaiting trials and 270 convicts, lacked clean water, utility vehicles and a power supply.

In the same vein, the Comptroller of Corrections, at the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Frank Okonkwo, stressed the need for interventionist measures to address the challenges.

The duo spoke during a visit to the facilities by acting first lady of the state, Mrs. Helen Eno Obareki, to commiserate and share some good moments and thoughts with the inmates as part of activities marking one year of her late mother, Pastor Patience Umo Eno’s pet project – Golden Initiative For All (GIFA).

Describing the visit as marking a significant milestone in the history of the custodial centre, the officials commended Lady Obareki’s gesture, noting that her generosity “is indeed a reflection of her father, governor Umo Eno’s unwavering impactful leadership in touching the lives of people across the state,” while praying God to sustain GIFA beyond the expiration of the tenure.

Besides, Mrs Obareki got encomiums for the gifts to the prisoners, as officers noted that “the visit signals the beginning of a rewarding relationship between the correctional centre and the office of the First Lady.”

Responding, the acting first lady admonished the inmates not to give up on life, as “living behind bars does not in any way suggest you cannot be productive citizens again.”