The Nigerian Prisons Service has vaccinated 29,163 prisoners against Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) in the 19 northern states.

“This exercise was carried out in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in response to the outbreak of the disease in some northern states of the country,” Prisons Public Relations Officer, DCP Francis Enobore, said in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.

He named the benefiting states to include Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa and Kaduna. Others are Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

According to DCP Enobore, “The authority equally extended the service to members of Staff and their families including civilians living in the neighbourhood of the Prisons.

“This is the first phase of the exercise, which is expected to cover Prison formations in all the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory.

“Other management initiatives designed to protect prisoners against communicable diseases have also been up-scaled particularly in Prisons prone to health challenges due to inmates’ congestion.

“While applauding the support from the NPHCDA, it is relevant to state that no prisoner was lost to Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis outbreak.”

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