70% of Nigerian prison inmates on ‘awaiting trial’ list – Interior minister laments

The minister of interior, Hon. (Dr.) Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has confirmed that about 70% of persons detained in the various correctional centres in Nigeria are detainees on the ‘awaiting trial’ list.

He said this while explaining the plans of the government to decongest the detention facilities while hosting the Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi, at his office in Abuja.

The minister stated that the move comes on the heels of the ministry’s plans to implement key reforms in areas of migration and the reformation of Nigeria’s correctional centres.

He noted that the ministry was working on key reforms, especially in travel documentation processes and knowledge transfer.

His words: “We have commenced the process to unbundle the bottlenecks in our international passport application and collection process.

“Today, we have made huge progress. We are also working on ways to reduce identity theft. We want to make sure the green passport regains its pride and integrity.”

Speaking on plans to decongest the nation’s correctional facilities across the country, the minister urged the EU to support the Federal Government’s plan to audit all correctional centres.

“We have over 4000 inmates in the facilities for their inability to pay various fines.

“We believe we can reduce the number of inmates in our correctional facilities by about forty per cent if we explore non-custodial alternatives as provided for in the Correctional Service Act,” he added.