Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Mr. Darlington Nwauju, has applauded the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for introducing “bold and bright set of reforms” in the Ministry targeted at transforming the correctional services in the country.
Nwauju said in a statement that the reforms were on the heels of verifiable achievements of the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCoS) under the administration of Tunji-Ojo, like the successful major surgery carried out on an inmate at the Kuje correctional facility, which he said was the first of its kind in the country.
According to him, before Dr Tunji-Ojo’s time in the Interior Ministry, medical facilities across the 254 correctional facilities were either decrepit or non-existent, saying “but within the two years of his time in that ministry, the story has changed with the refocusing on inmates care.”
Nwauju said: “We have not reached an Eldorado in terms of correctional services in the country, but there is a very deliberate policy shift to humanitarian care for our inmates with a bird’s eye view on the Mandela Rules, which is the 2015 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of inmates.
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“Practically speaking, in the last one year, 27 inmates have graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) with over 150 students enrolling for the current academic year. These are outside those trained in tailoring, shoe and soap-making which prepares them for life after their time at the correctional centres.
“The concomitant effect of this new policy direction at Nigeria’s Interior Ministry which comes with human face, is that inmates will come out of the correctional facilities fully rehabilitated and intellectually capacitated to contribute their quota to nation building.”
While commending Tunji-Ojo for the reforms he described as “bright and bold”, the APC chief said “my thoughts are that the Ministry of Interior under Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s watch rehashes, rejuvenates, reinvigorates and reignites hope in the Nigerian dream, which speaks of resilience, foresight and leadership of the sub-region and the black race.”
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