The spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, has applauded the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for introducing a “bold and brilliant set of reforms” in the Ministry aimed at transforming the country’s correctional services.
Nwauju said in a statement that the reforms came on the heels of verifiable achievements by the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) under the Tunji-Ojo administration, such as the successful major surgery performed on an inmate at the Kuje Correctional Centre, which he said was the first of its kind in the country.
According to him, prior to Dr Tunji-Ojo’s stay at the Ministry of Home Affairs, the medical facilities in the 254 prisons were decrepit or non-existent, saying that “but in the two years of his tenure in that ministry, the story has changed with the refocusing on the care of inmates.”
Nwauju said: “We have not reached an Eldorado in terms of correctional services in the country, but there is a very deliberate policy shift towards humanitarian care for our prisoners with an overview of the Mandela Rules, which are the 2015 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of prisoners.
“In practical terms, in the last year, 27 inmates graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and more than 150 students enrolled for the current academic year. These are outside those receiving training in tailoring, shoe making and soap, which prepares them for life after their stay in correctional centres.
“The concomitant effect of this new political direction of the Nigerian Ministry of Interior, which has a human face, is that inmates will emerge from the correctional facilities fully rehabilitated and intellectually enabled to contribute their quota to nation-building.”
While commending Tunji-Ojo for the reforms he described as “bright and bold”, the APC chief said “my thought is that the Ministry of Home Affairs under the leadership of Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo rehashes, rejuvenates, reinvigorates and rekindles hope in the Nigerian dream, which speaks of resilience, foresight and leadership of the sub-region and the black race.”
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