The Nigerian Government has disclosed the possibility of relocating some correctional facilities from their present locations in urban areas, explaining that the proposed planned relocation was because urbanisation had eaten deep into the setbacks that ought to be around the facilities.
Penpushing reports that Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made this known in a statement during a visit to the Ikoyi correctional facility in Lagos citing the Suleja and Ikoyi Correctional Centres as examples.
The minister explaining why the Ikoyi facility should no longer be at its present location, pointed out that it no longer had an adequate buffer zone as stipulated in the constitution, describing the present location as a security threat.
‘Of course, you can see the magistrate court here, a church there, residential buildings, and a lot of commercial structures around. The government is looking into how we can perhaps relocate some of these correctional centres, with Ikoyi being very key’, Tunji-Ojo said.
‘Do not forget that the law says you need a buffer zone of about 100 meters. As you can see, the buffer zone here is almost zero. This is a law-abiding government, and we will explore all avenues to ensure we do what is legally right’, he added.
Penpushing further reports that the Minister in similar vein, cited the Suleja Correctional Centre as another example, pointing out how the facility is only 7 metres away from the next house, stressing that it was the aim of the current administration to make correctional centres places of education and transformation.
The Minister, however noted that the aim would be difficult to achieve in their present environments, as he also disclosed that the government would soon commence an inmate audit across the 256 correctional centres in the country with a view to freeing inmates who ought not to be there.
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