Taraba Gov, Kefas Secures Freedom Of 31 Prison Inmates

Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has exercised his prerogative of mercy by granting pardon to thirty-one (31) inmates.

The Governor’s act of clemency is said to be in line with his commitment to justice, compassion, and the belief in the transformative power of rehabilitation.

In his New Year broadcast yesterday, Governor Kefas assured the citizens that his administration is fully dedicated to addressing the security challenges that the state is currently facing.

He reassured that the protection of the lives and property of the residents remain of utmost importance to his administration, adding that it will all be prioritized in the year 2024.

“We will do our best to address security challenges and secure the state and enable all the citizens to conduct their legitimate activities freely without fear,” the Governor said.

‘Dogs Are Better Fed Than Inmates In Nigerian Prisons’ – Oshiomhole

Meanwhile, the Senate has expressed concern that dogs in the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) receive better care than the over 81,000 inmates in correctional facilities nationwide.

Last month, during the 2024 budget defence session before the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Interior, the Chairman of the Committee, Adams Oshiomhole, pointed out the disparity in daily feeding costs: N800 for each of the NCS’s 900 dogs compared to N750 for an inmate.

Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, expressed concern that such conditions could lead to inmates becoming hardened criminals.

He acknowledged the issue as related to appropriations rather than service management.

The Comptroller General of the Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, confirmed the feeding cost figures to the Committee and noted the inadequacy of the amount allocated for inmates’ meals.

He mentioned a proposal for increasing the daily feeding cost for an inmate to ₦3,000, already submitted to the Minister of Interior.

Nababa said, “The total number of inmates in 2023 is 81,354 nationwide while 53, 352 are awaiting trial. We feed each inmate with N750 daily and they are fed 3 times daily (N250 for each square meal). We have 900 security dogs and to feed a dog each day is N800 daily.”

He also said that the correctional service has 900 dogs across its custodial centers and that it spends N800 to feed each of them daily, just as he pleaded with the lawmakers to come to their aid as they have already requested an increase in the feeding amounts for the inmates.

Nababa said, “We wrote a letter to the President to review 3,000 per day for each inmate. We want this committee to assist us in putting in words for us. The money is grossly inadequate. The budget for feeding each of them per day is N751 per day at N250 per meal, per inmate.”

The CG explained that the feeding allowance per day would be reduced to N720 after the reduction of VAT and tax

Speaking further, Oshiomhole said that “53, 352 or more are not convicted yet, they are awaiting trial. They are not guilty of any offense known to the law. They are innocent under our laws. For an innocent Nigerian who is being held in a correctional home N250 per meal is grossly inadequate. I wonder what you are feeding them with. They are obviously underfed.”