By Victoria Onehi
The Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has said 3,030 Inmates were rehabilitated between July and December, 2024 in Custodial centres across the country.
The Minister disclosed this yesterday at the 5th Edition of 2025 Ministerial Press briefing organised by Ministry of Information and Orientation in Abuja.
The Minister said the inmates were trained various vocational skills including: carpentry, tailoring, poultry, fishery, hairdressing adding that Violent Extremist Offenders (VEOs) were rehabilitated under the Deradicalisation Programme of the Nigerian Correctional Service within the last quarter of 2024;
The Minister noted that over 50 inmates in the various Custodial Centres across the country are currently undertaking academic courses at the NOUN Special Study Centres and the Service empowered over 32 discharged inmates with After Care materials to facilitate their reintegration back to the society in 2024.
Tunji-Ojo, also disclosed that the Federal Government has given approval for the relocation of 29 Custodial Centres due to urbanization.
Speaking about other achievements of the Ministry in the past one year he said it has ensured that foreign applicants who applied for Nigerian citizenship were genuinely scrutinized before being granted Nigerian citizenship.
The Minister also stated that the Nigerian Immigration Service under his watch has cleared over 200,000 backlogs of Passport applications and sustained supply of adequate Passport Booklets and has established additional Passport Front Offices.
He added that the Immigration Service has also roll-out Enhanced e-Passport at various missions abroad – Italy, Sweden, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Russia, Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia etc.
Decentralization of Change of Data (COD) applications which are now processed across all Passport Offices nationwide.
At the Nigeria Security and Defence Corps,the minister said the establishment of CG’s Intelligence Squad the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG SIS) have destroyed over 2,125 illegal refineries and oil dumps.
He said close to 205 Trucks conveying illegally Refined Petroleum products have been impounded while more than 700 suspects and accomplices have been arrested.
Similarly,the Minister said the Federal Fire Service has undertaken comprehensive measures to modernise and enhance its firefighting capabilities.
He said the implementation of an advanced communication network to ensure seamless coordination during emergency operations, including the integration of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology for better incident mapping and response planning have been put in place by the service.
He noted that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) cumulative enrolment as at Feb 2025 stood at over 117million with an actual growth rate of 2.78 million from January 2025 to February 2025.
