August 26, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions has decried the poor condition of inmates in custodial centres in Ebonyi State.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, made this known during their oversight visit to the state. The committee was on an inspection tour of Nigerian Correctional Service’ facilities across the country as part of efforts to reform the centres.
The over 40-member committee, led by its Chairman, inspected the Abakaliki and Afikpo Custodial Centres, saying it would ensure that the centres were given a facelift by the Federal Government.
Ogah, who spoke on behalf of the committee, maintained that the members remain committed to reforming the centres.
He said the committee is working assiduously to ensure proper implementation of the Nigerian Correctional Services Act 2019 to ensure that the objectives of the Nigerian Correctional Services are actualised.
“We are working hard to rebuild the custodial centres in general, including decongestion of the various correctional centres. The most important thing is reform, reintegrate the inmates and bring them back into society so that they do not indulge in another crime,” he said.
Vera Ogwude, Controller of Ebonyi Custodial Centres, appealed for the expansion of the inmates’ cells, saying: “We have a lot of challenges. You can see the cells are not conducive for the inmates. The cells can not cover the number of inmates.
“We are pleading that if there is any way they can help to expand the inmates’ cells so that they can be comfortable and not have issues with each other. We are hoping that within a short period of time, all the facilities meant for the centre will be put to use.
“Currently, we have 1,351 but we are expecting that it should come down to 500. We are overstretched because of the limited number of cells for the inmates.”
The Committee also inspected the ongoing construction of a 1,200-capacity custodial centre by the Ebonyi Government.
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