By Ayomide Otitoju
Nigeria’s Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says about 67 percent of inmates in the country’s correctional facilities are awaiting trial, with nearly three-quarters being state offenders.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television Thursday, Tunji-Ojo called for stronger collaboration between federal and state governments to improve correctional services.
“Two-thirds are state offenders, but the Federal Government is the one taking responsibility now,” he said. “We were elected to produce results, not make excuses.”
He noted that in July, the federal government released 4,550 offenders as part of efforts to decongest prisons, focusing on those held for minor, bailable offenses or excessively long detentions.
Tunji-Ojo stressed President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to rehabilitating correctional centers, despite their poor state in 2023. His remarks follow a recent jailbreak in Nasarawa State, where 16 inmates escaped from the Keffi custodial center.
