The federal government has granted a 50 per cent upward review of inmates‘ feeding allowances in the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) centres following skyrocketing inflation in the country.
This comes after a recent viral video that showed inmates complaining of poor feeding in one of the correctional centres in Calabar, Cross River State.
The NCoS‘s spokesman, Umar Abubakar, said this on Thursday, August 5, while fielding questions from journalists during the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee‘s (SCIPC) monthly press briefing in Abuja.
He said the increment was the first part of the review to cushion the price hike in the country‘s food price.
He said, “The viral video is not a representation of the Nigeria Correctional Service, nor is it a mandate of the service on reformation and rehabilitation of inmates. Let me make this known here that since the inception of the change in name, significant progress has been made in reforming those who are in our custody.
“Four days ago, I granted an interview where we gave details on the alleged video. The NCoS has ordered a detailed investigation of the said video, which is going viral. Regarding the outcome of the inquiry, I may not be able to speak much about it.
“And on the issue of the cost of food, the federal government has reviewed the feeding allowance of inmates in our custody with 50 per cent. And this is just the first phase of the review.”
The spokesman said the NCoS has provided an enabling environment for inmates to achieve its mandate of reformation and rehabilitation.
He said: “Let me say here that currently, to ensure that we have what I refer to as public safety through our reformatory activities, we have over 1,000 of our inmates who are going through their various degree programmes, 282 doing their diploma and master‘s degree programme, and six that are doing their PhD programme. Three of the PhD students are already writing their thesis.
“ All this is geared towards our efforts to ensure that we change our inmates‘ psyche and behaviour and help them re-enter society.
“It is the care we give to this inmate in our custody that has provided a serene environment to help them learn skill acquisition across our custodial centre and to also pursue their educational program.”
