Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned a 3000-capacity Custodial Centre in Janguza, Kano state, the largest of such facilities so far in the country.

Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service NCoS, ACC Abubakar Umar disclosed this in a statement issued Friday in Abuja.

Commissioning the facility, the President said his administration embarked on the construction of six of such mega custodial facilities in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

According to him, the aim is to eradicate overcrowding in custodial centres and allow for a humane custody of inmates.

Buhari said the new custodial centre will reduce government expenditure on logistics as the stress of transporting inmates to and from courts is reduced due to the fact that the facility is equipped with courts for speedy dispensation of justice.

He said; “the facility is critical at this time; I have no doubt that the incoming government which is also progressive will sustain the tempo of improvement”.

In his remarks, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, called on state governments to take charge of feeding inmates who committed state offenses but are held in federal custodial centres. 

He said, the charge is in line with the recently amended Constitution of the Federal Republic.

Om his part, Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa appreciated the federal government, the people and government of Kano state for supporting the project and called on the public to accept returning ex-offenders as they have been properly reformed.

He stressed that any form of rejection or stigmatization will send them back to criminal livelihoods.

“The new facility is the first of its kind and the largest custodial facility in Nigeria as it can house 3000 inmates. It is also equipped with modern amenities like courts, vocational centres, recreational facilities, school facilities and many more”, the statement added.