Following a viral video alleging poor feeding of inmate in Afokang Correctional Centre in Calabar, Cross River State and the probing of same, the Federal Government has announced a 50 per cent increase in the daily feeding allowance for an inmate from N750 to N1,500.

The Federal Government announced the increase just as it stressed that the dignity of inmates was non-negotiable.

The increase means Nigeria will spend more than N45 billion on inmates feeding alone in a fiscal year.

According to the National Correctional Service (NCoS), the increase in the feeding allowance of inmates has been a concern to the agency, as the N750 daily feeding allowance does not reflect current economic realities.

The national spokesman for the agency, Umar Abubakar, while hailing the development, noted: “For any reformation to occur, we must gain the trust of our inmates, providing a serene environment to care for them, feed them to a reasonable degree and care for them. To a large extent, we have been able to do that through the frugal use of financial resources at their disposal.”

In a chat with The Guardian, Umar observed that inmates’ feeding allowance was subject to review constantly and government’s effort to ensure care for those in conflict with the law was what led to the increase in feeding allowance.

“The issue of feeding is something that caught the attention of the minister and he has been sincere in his approach at ensuring that the mandate of all security agencies under his supervision in the Ministry of Interior are realised and that is why he gave a marching order that all agencies under his administration must develop an effective and innovative approach to achieving their mandates.”

He recalled that when the minister assumed office, he tackled congestion in the custodial centres by helping to pay off fines for inmates to the tune of over N500,000 to free 4, 063 inmates.

The action, he noted, reduced the number in custody, which then was 80, 804 to about 76, 741. He, however, lamented that the number had since increased to 84,741 based on available statistics of which 82, 821 males and 1, 920 females.

Meanwhile, a security expert and a retired senior officer of the service, Francis Enobore, has urged state governments to assist in the feeding and care of inmates, as more than 90 per cent of the inmates belonged to them and were largely awaiting trial inmates.

Enobore said inmates that committed state offences were the responsibility of the state government and were supposed to be tried by the state. (The Guardian)

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