By YAHAYA ISAH

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment toward fortifying the nation’s correctional centres against any external attack.

The minister, who made this known during an inspection tour of Kuje Correctional Centre on Thursday in Abuja, stated that it was the resolve of the present administration to prioritise the fortification to forestall jailbreaks.

Tunji-Ojo expressed delight about the ongoing rehabilitation work at the centre, which he described as a mark of seriousness on the part of any determined and serious government.

“Compared to the last time when we came here and compare it with what is on ground now, no doubt it will go a long way to forestall any nature of external attack on this facility.

“As you can see, the perimeter fencing is completed as well as the solar fittings on both sides of the fence to illuminate the facility for additional security.

“So, basically, it’s not just about Kuje alone but it will be replicated to other correctional centres across the country.

“Recall that in 2022 when this centre was attacked, everybody acknowledged the extent of the damage to our pride as Nigerians.

“So, when we came on board, and since the former administration had already conceived the idea of fortifying the nation’s correctional centres, we immediately prioritised it.

According to him, with President Bola Tinubu’s intervention fund, it enables us to achieve this feat so far. As you can see, am happy to tell you that about nine of our correctional centres are under rehabilitation right now.

He expressed optimism that in no distant time, Kuje correctional centre would witness a complete turnaround that would be a model to others.

“This is a pointer to the fact that the President cares about the security of Nigerians, about the inmates and making correctional centres correctional in nature and not condemnation centres.

In a similar development, the minister, who also took a tour of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) Academy, promised to build the best and the most sophisticated fire academy in West Africa.

This, he said, was to enable the service give the best training to its personnel to meet with the ever changing dynamics in fire fighting globally.

“By the grace of God, on May 28, we will be having the ground breaking ceremony here with the completion period of just one year to be delivered.

“We are bringing down lots of projects here and we are erecting modern fire academy that can be compared to the best you can get anywhere in the world.

“As I always say, fire service is not just a profession or choice; it’s a mandatory profession that we must all encourage in our society.

“This is because; the first priority of any government is to secure lives and property of its citizens. And you know one of the biggest threats to security of lives and property is fire.

“Obviously, fire service is not just about fire, is about rescue service being the first render in case of any emergency,” he stressed. (NAN)

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