Aregbesola Tells Why States Can Now Build & Manage Correctional Centres

Rauf Aregbesola, the minister for interior has disclosed reasons why states can now build and manage correctional centres.

The ministers attribute this to the 16 constitutional amendments signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 17, 2023.

Part of the constitutional amendment is the removal of correctional services from the exclusive list of the federal government.

“This simply means that states which do not have correctional facilities would have to pay the federal government for the feeding and accommodation of their inmates,” he said.

“Until the amendment of the constitution, only the federal government was in charge of custodial centres.

“With the amendment of the constitution, states are now empowered to build correctional centres and facilities to house offenders convicted and sentenced for committing state offences.

“Where states cannot 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 stated at “a two-day conference on decongestion and corrections management in Abuja” according to a report monitored by SocietyNow.Ng on the Thecable.ng.

The development is believed to be part of efforts to decongest the correctional centers.

Thecable.ng earlier reported that “the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) said that 52,446 out of the 75,436 inmates in custody across the nation, were awaiting trial and  overstretching the facilities”

The news platform also credited assistant controller general of the correctional service, Gimba Dumbulwa with the disclosure that “said some of the inmates have been at the facilities without trial for over 10 years.”