On Tuesday, the Federal Government released 37 convicts from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre and the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ahoada, Rivers State, through the Ministry of Interior.
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the announcement while executing the release of convicts from the Port Harcourt Maximum Security Custodial Centre.
Tunji-Ojo stated that the exercise was part of the Federal Government’s efforts to decongest detention facilities, upgrade correctional facilities, and improve the welfare of personnel and inmates in correctional facilities around the country.
Tunji-Ojo further stated that the exercise was part of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s effort to free 4,068 detainees condemned to varied durations of incarceration with the option of a fine and compensation in detention facilities across the country.
The minister, represented by his Technical Adviser, Mr Tunde Ogundare, stated that the liberated detainees were also given a N10,000 stipend to help them return home.
He stated that business groups raised approximately N585 million as corporate social responsibility for the release of the convicts.
Ogundare expressed disappointment that the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre was overcrowded in comparison to its original design.
In terms of inmate population, the Rivers state command has one of the largest custodial facilities.
According to him, the maximum security correctional center in Port Harcourt, erected during the colonial era, was supposed to house 800 inmates, but it now houses over 4,000.
“According to the statistics, the facility is more than 500 percent congested, which means that space meant for one person is occupied by five people.”
“This is an unacceptable situation that the current administration will not tolerate,” he stated.
He claimed that decongestion of custodial centers across the country was one of the government’s short-term initiatives to combat overcrowding at the facilities.
The minister said that the benefiting inmates had received training in a variety of professions and occupations, as well as post-release orientation courses to assist them successfully reintegrate into their communities.
He, on the other hand, urged the public, particularly former inmates’ communities, to welcome them and assist them to reintegrate correctly, warning the public against stigmatizing them.