By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The Federal Government has given the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) a four-week deadline to address cases of abuse, illegal detention of minors, and other lapses in juvenile custodial centres across the country.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, issued the directive on Monday during the third public hearing of the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption and Other Violations Against the NCoS.

Ajani, who chaired the panel, expressed concern over the mingling of juveniles with adult inmates, poor welfare conditions, and systemic administrative failures in the correctional system.

?You are going to send to the ministry the status report of all the borstal centres that have been completed or not; requisites or not.?

Ajani also questioned the legal basis for admitting minors without due process, noting that some had never been taken to court.

She ordered the immediate removal of all adults from facilities designated for juveniles, stressing that the panel?s goal was to reform the system and protect inmate dignity.

?You have explained how children are admitted into borstal centres and that correctional service officers are present at those facilities.

?But when warrants are presented, we cannot trace where they originate. Now we are hearing that some of these children were never even taken to court.

?So, where exactly are these warrants coming from?

?Are security agencies issuing them? And if so, do they have the authority to commit children to foster centres without any court involvement?? she asked.

Ajani expressed concern over reports that mentally ill inmates were being held in correctional facilities without treatment, despite the presence of psychiatric institutions nearby.

?In Abeokuta, there are some inmates with mental health challenges and have not been taken to any mental home.

?I know that in Abeokuta, we have a psychiatric hospital, I think one of the foremost in this country. And why have these inmates not been taken there?

?It?s not enough to chain people. It?s not even allowed for you to chain them without them having proper assessment and treatment,? the chairperson added.

Ajani also criticised the lack of clarity and urged the NCoS to take ownership of the vacancy declaration process.

Turning to the care of children born to incarcerated women, Ajani questioned whether the necessary budgetary provisions were being made.

?You must put things right into your appropriation and make a proper budget. Please do what you are supposed to do. And do not think it?s the Ministry who will push it through.

?Those who are not meant to be there should be moved out immediately. Report back to the ministry within four weeks, with evidence of compliance.

?Four weeks is enough for you to sort out the problem, whatever it is. Four weeks,? she emphasised.

She described conditions in one custodial facility as ?horrible? and stressed the urgency of intervention.

The permanent secretary reiterated that the panel?s mission was not to indict individuals but to initiate genuine reform.

Speaking, the Panel Secretary, Dr. Uju Agomoh, highlighted the wide scope of the panel?s mandate, which included investigation of corruption, torture, cruel and degrading treatment of inmates, and systemic lapses within correctional institutions.

She outlined some of the key objectives, including; identifying systemic issues contributing to rights violations; recommending concrete actions for the immediate release of affected individuals; proposing medium- and long-term policy reforms to prevent future abuses, among others.

Referencing earlier investigations, Agomoh highlighted specific cases of alleged misconduct, including a report that an inmate at the Kuje Correctional Centre was intimidated, threatened, and defrauded by the officer in charge.

She also mentioned a case involving the verification of whether Idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky had actually served his sentence at the custodial centre.

She said the panel?s methodology includes analysis of human rights documents, field visits to custodial centres, and engagement with stakeholders including inmates, correctional officers, human rights groups, and government agencies.

?During the second public hearing, we received specific complaints and treated it in addition to the thematic issues.

?From January this year to date, the panel has also carried out a series of visits,? she said.

Agomoh confirmed that the NCoS had provided full access to all correctional facilities across Nigeria and had participated actively in the hearings. (NAN)

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