The Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service has rebuked an allegation by the state Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, that custodial centres had been turned into training grounds for hardened criminals.
NCoS said such comments coming from the police boss were rather unfortunate, misleading and unprofessional as he neither showcased his correctional literacy nor recognised the excellent and exceptional services provided by the facilities.
It added that the facilities had been committed to delivering access to justice by giving inmates regimes of treatment towards reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders despite several challenges of congestion and overcrowding which they encountered.
This was contained in a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, Rotimi Oladokun, on Thursday.
It further stated that the command regretted the misinterpretations in Owohunwa’s statement as it possessed the tendency to promote prejudice and discrimination against former inmates, noting that such could lead to unintended consequences and fuel crimes in society.
The statement partly read, “Keeping 9400 inmates out of circulation in five facilities with a total capacity for only 4167 is next to a miracle and requires support from all and sundry, not a blanket condemnation.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NCoS has zero tolerance for all forms of unethical and unprofessional conduct on the part of both Staff and Inmates with appropriate sanctions including suspension, dismissal and prosecution for those found wanting.
“Unarguably, the NCoS is discharging its statutory functions to the extent of changing and transforming the lives of both serving and former inmates with empirical and verifiable proofs in the areas of formal and non-formal educational programmes ongoing in all our Custodial Centres with over 1000 inmates undergoing various degrees programmes up to PhD as well as NCE and GCE.
“Vocational and entrepreneurial skills have been acquired by over 3000 inmates from our various workshops namely- Tailoring, Carpentry, Shoe making, Artwork and Paint Making. Others are Music Production, Bakery, Computer training and Cane work. The NCoS also provides Agricultural training projects like Gardening, Fish farming and Poultry within our facilities.
“Thankfully, we have active partnerships with the National Open University of Nigeria, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency and many NGOs and religious organisations complimenting our training programmes.
“In area of crime prevention, the NCoS continues to share actionable intelligence with other law enforcement agencies which has led in no small measures to crime prevention and arrest of culprits.
“Importantly, NCoS ensures that the security at our Custodial centres deters jailbreaks which ultimately has improved public safety cum national security.
“Regrettably, the misrepresentation in the assertions made by the said official has the tendency to reinforce prejudice and discrimination against former inmates which can lead to unintended consequences of recidivism and fuel crimes.
“Belonging to the same family of Administration of Criminal Justice, Crime prevention and management is a shared and complimentary responsibility by various stakeholders which can be made more effective and efficient by mutual respect, synergy and collaboration amongst the respective law enforcement agencies.”
Owohunwa had in a report online hit prison authorities saying they had turned correctional centres into training grounds for hardened criminals and reproducing criminal gangs threatening the peace of the society.
The report indicated that the comments were made while parading suspects who allegedly robbed and killed Senator Solomon Adeola’s aide, Mr Sanni Adeniyi, at the State Police Command Headquarters in Ikeja.
