The Secretary of the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption and Violations against the Nigerian Correctional Service, Associate Professor Uju Agomoh has said that inadequate funding and resource shortages led to illegal practices and rights violations in custodial centers in Nigeria.
She said this while speaking with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday.
“It’s important to see those balances. And maybe again to add, I perhaps didn’t know that the starvation in terms of resourcing is as bad as what we saw in the field. I don’t think there was any custodial center that we ever saw that had adequate funds to run the facility. So they had to make shift—do things that were illegal—just to be able to get some form of resources to keep the place running,” she revealed.
“If you don’t have adequate funds to take the inmates to court, to run the vehicles, for fuel, or to run your generators, then you’re probably going to have to perhaps sell some bed spaces and some privileges to do what you’re supposed to do. So it is systemic, and it is bad,” she added.
Assoc. Prof. Agomoh noted that several correctional services were covered in the investigation.
“We did 86 in 22 states. There are about 252 centers in total, so 86 is a fair number. In each of the correctional centers, we also went to the state command headquarters.”
She added that the success of the recommendations depends on sustained commitment and active follow-up.
“We are holding a stakeholders’ engagement involving the Attorney General and others. I would say yes, but a ‘qualified yes.’ It will only work if all stakeholders are invested in holding people accountable and tracking the progress,” she concluded.
Favour Odima
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