By Victoria Onehi
The President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday commissioned a 3000 Capacity Ultra modern Custodial Centre in Janguza, Kano state.
While commissioning the facility, the President stated that his administration embarked on the construction of 6 numbers of such mega custodial facility in the six (6) geopolitical zones of the country. He went further to state that the aim is to eradicate overcrowding in custodial centres for humane custody of inmates.
The President said that the new custodial centre will reduce government expenditure on logistics as the stress of transporting inmates to and from courts is abated, as the facility is equipped with court facilities for speedy dispensation of justice.
A statement by the Assistant Controller of Corrections and Public Relations Officer AD Umar quoted the President thus.”The facility is ‘critical at this time; I have no doubt that the incoming government which is also progressive will sustain the tempo of improvement.”
In his remarks, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbeshola, called on the state governments to take charge of feeding inmates that are committed on state offenses and are held in federal custodial centres. This, he said, is in line with the recently amended constitution of the Federal Republic.
In a vote of thanks, the Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa FICMC, MFR, mni, appreciated the federal government, the good people and government of Kano state for supporting the project and called on the public to accept returning ex-offenders inmate as they have been properly reformed. He stressed that any form of rejection or stigmatization will send them back to criminal livelihood.
The new facility is the first of its kind and the largest custodial facility in Nigeria as it can house 3000 inmates. It is also equipped with modern amenities like courts, vocational centres, recreational facilities, school facilities and many more.
