FG To Establish Six New Modern Prisons

The Federal Government is set to construct six new modern correctional facilities in the six geo-political zones in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made this known in Janguza, Kano while inspecting the ongoing model maximum-security correctional facility project cited in the town.

Aregbesola said the facility was built for inmates awaiting trial, adding that it is part of projects initiated by the federal government to reform the correctional service.

The minister, however, expressed satisfaction with the project and appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his support of the correctional service reforms.

He said: “We are actualising our commitment to reform the correctional service that we have in Nigeria.

“What we have here is a model of what we expect to have nationwide. Here, we have a 3,000 custodial facility, which we plan to replicate in each of the six geo-political zones in the country.

“It is designed for inmates awaiting trial, a petty, medium and maximum security facility.”

In his remarks, the Controller-General, Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Ahmad Jafaru, said that the project was designed with dormitories, a school, a hospital, a skills acquisition centre, and a mosque, among others.

He said the project would be commissioned this year, adding that the ancient Kurmawa Maximum Prison had been upgraded into a rehabilitation centre.