…Says the law is clear, children should not be in adult correctional centres
…’We will not tolerate violations’
…There will be consequences
By Joel Ajayi, Abuja
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said that the presence of about 26,000 children in custodial centres nationwide is unacceptable, as it violates the laws requiring their placement in borstal institutions.
The Ministry’s Director, Press and Public Relations, Mr Ozoya Imohimi, in a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, indicated that Dr Tunji-Ojo, frowned at the appalling number of children in detention as this was made known at a high-level inter-agency meeting, in Abuja, on Tuesday.
He explained that, the 2024 report on children and young adults deprived of liberty presents a sobering reality, an alarming 26,000 children have been held annually in Correctional facilities over the past five years.
According to him, “The law is clear, children should not be in adult correctional centres. We will not tolerate violations of this law. There will be consequences for agencies that fail to uphold the law”.
More so, the Minister has called for an urgent action and penalties with a view to addressing legal and institutional gaps
He, however, acknowledged the lack of adequate facilities and the need to make the facilities available to put a permanent stop on the anomaly.
In as much as we commend the Minister for a job well done, however, there are disturbing reports that the conditions of inmates facing awaiting trial is nothing to write home about as their is inadequate facility to properly keep the awaiting trial inmates. The correctional custodial centres all over the country are not in good shape and capacity. These inadequacies report has it were causes of jailbreaks and a place where inmates become hardened and emboldened to continue in their criminal acts.
