The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the Federal Government is working assiduously to accelerate the judicial process, aiming for speedy trials for inmates awaiting trial.
Tunji-Ojo, during an unscheduled inspection visit to the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje, Abuja, said government was committed to decongesting correctional centres, particularly for awaiting trial inmates.
He said the ministry was working closely with the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to bridge the gap in the time frame for conviction of inmates.
“We are working together, looking at inmates that perhaps have spent more time awaiting trial than they would have suffered or spent if they were convicted.
In this particular facility, over 200 inmates are convicted while about 804 are awaiting trials, so, we have to design a methodology by being innovative.
In the next couple of weeks or months, you are going to see drastic reduction in the number of inmates that we have.
I want to assure you that we are working very closely with the AGF on ways to decongest our correctional centres,” he said.
The minister, however, noted that considerable work remains across the 240 correctional centres in the country.
He added that the ministry would embark on scheduled visits to other correctional centres outside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“We will be able to see things for ourselves so that both the ministry, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other stakeholders will know the right way to intervene in the situation of the correctional service,” he said.
While emphasising the need for collaboration among stakeholders to ensure timely justice delivery, he commended correctional service personnel for their dedication to ensuring inmates are properly cared for.
The NBA President, Afam Osigwe, said he had requested data on inmates awaiting trial to determine if there were pending cases against them.
“This will help the NBA probe on new units and how lawyers can also come in to move for their release.
Also, for persons who may have spent longer time than they would have spent if they were convicted; to see the process we can put in place to get them released,” he said.
(NAN)