The minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, while speaking at the second ministerial strategy retreat of the Ministry of Interior, said the ministry is using technology to track the footprints of escaped inmates.
The retreat which was titled “Developing internal security and public safety towards a five-year strategic plan for accelerated national development” was held at Ilorin, the state capital of Kwara state.
According to the minister, the goal of the investment in new custodial facilities is to decongest existing ones, ensure good living conditions for inmates, and support the implementation of the NCOs Act 2019, which aims to rehabilitate, reform, and reintegrate inmates.
The minister also stated that the government has begun retraining personnel to respond to attacks on detention institutions, as well as providing more advanced weaponry for their use.
“We have invested in the construction of 3,000 modern capacity custodial centres in each of the six geo-political zones.”
“We are tracing the criminals who stormed our institutions and also re-arresting many of the fleeing convicts,” Ogbeni Aregbesola said, adding that Nigeria is going through “exceptional times.” We will not stop until all of them have been returned to us.”
“We have captured the biometrics of all inmates while the dreadful COVID-19 virus has been kept out of our custodial facilities to date. This is a monumental feat of global acclaim.”
“If you are an ardent follower of the news, you will see that it is commonplace to read news of different numbers of inmates being re-arrested through the help of sister security agencies and a special task force set up for this purpose. Leveraging technology, the footprints of escapee inmates are being tracked, so our citizens are rest assured of their security.” The minister Concluded.
