FG Writes Governors, Plan Mass Prisoner’s Release

Ministers of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has written to the Nigerian Governors Forum to request a meeting so as to decongest jails nationwide.

In exactly one month, Aregbesola said he would meet with state governors to agree on the mass release of at least 30 percent of prisoners from correctional facilities across the country.

The minister added that the interface was paramount as more than 90 percent of the inmates were being held for contravening various state laws, noting that over 70 percent of the 75,635 inmates at present were awaiting trial.

He further said that the federal offenders in the system were far fewer than 10 per cent, adding that the majority of people in custody were those who had run afoul of state laws.

Aregbesola said that they were therefore being kept under the legal jurisdiction of their respective states.

The minister added that the decongestion of the 253 custodial centres nationwide was necessary as some of the inmates have no reason to remain in custody.