The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS)

  • Alleged rights violation: Prison boss orders investigation

    The Controller General (CG) of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’fau Muhammad, has ordered investigation into a trending video clip showing some prison officers assaulting a civilian.

    A statement issued in Abuja by the NPS spokesman, Francis Enobore, said: “The attention of the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons Service has been drawn to a trending video clip showing some prisons officers assaulting a civilian.

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    “Consequently, the Controller General of Prisons has constituted a team to carry out investigation into the incident and forward the report to his office for immediate action.

    “Members of the public should be  assured that any officer found culpable will be duly sanctioned as the NPS remains a highly disciplined and professional organization which has been a vanguard against the violation of human rights in any form.”

  • Plateau gets new Controller of Prisons

    Mr Samuel Aguda has been appointed as the Controller in-charge of Plateau Command of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS).

    DSP Luka Ayedoo, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), announced this in a statement on Saturday in Jos.

    Aguda replaces Mr Daniel Odharo, who has been deployed to the Zone ‘E’ Headquarters of the Service, Owerri.

    According to PRO, Odharo, erstwhile controller, served in the command for 13 months

    Aguda who hails from Ise/Orun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Bsc) in Psychology from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife.

    Until his deployment to Plateau, Aguda was controller in-charge of Administration at its Zone ‘F’ Headquarters, Ibadan.

    He said the new controller had also served as head of Sagamu,Wamba and Mubi Prisons in Ogun, Nasarawa and Adamawa states.

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    He added that Aguda was one time in-charge of Operations and Administration in the FCT and Ekiti State Commands.

    Aguda has since assumed duty at the command.

    NAN

  • PROWA seeks support to boost prisoners’ welfare

    Hajiya Gwamma Ahmed, President, Prisons Officers Wives Association (PROWA) has urged the rich, corporate organisations and NGOs to join hands with the association  to boost its corporate social responsibility to the prisoners.

    Ahmed gave the advice in an interview with our reporter in Abuja.

    She said it had become imperative for the well to do to in the society to support PROWA in discharging its Corporate Social responsibilities to reinforce its motto: ‘We care too. “

    “I want to urge people, especially the rich, to see the need to rehabilitate prisons and ensure social development of prisoners.

    “The association has been helping the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) in rehabilitation and reformation of prisons, over the years but we cannot do this alone,” she said.

    According to her, the association has implemented programmes such as De-worming/Hygiene Campaign, Cervical Cancer Awareness, Visits to prison yard as part of its efforts to contribute to the prisons reformation.

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    Ahmed, who added that PROWA donated essential supplies to inmates and paid the option of fine for 50 well behaved inmates, in the last quarter of 2017 to enable them regain their freedom, promised that the figure would be increased by 2019.

    The PROWA president, however, commended the Controller General of Prisons, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed and other members of staff of the Service for their continued financial and moral support.

    PROWA had in March empowered 41 widows of prison officers who died in active service due to Boko Haram insurgency in Abuja.

    The association said the exercise was aimed at enabling the widows start-up small scale businesses in the various areas of their skills to support their families.

  • Prisons Service can contribute to agricultural production, if well funded – Official

    Prisons Service can contribute to agricultural production, if well funded – Official

    Alhaji Magaji Abdullahi, the Controller, Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) in Jigawa, says the prisons service can contribute meaningfully to the nation’s agricultural production if it is well-funded.

    Abdullahi said this in an interaction with newsmen in Dutse on Wednesday.

    He said that the prisons service had hectares of land across the country which could be utilised for crop and livestock production.

    The controller, however, appealed to the Federal Government to provide tractors, fertilisers and other farm inputs for the prison service to facilitate its crop growing efforts.

    Abdullahi said that in Jigawa alone, the service had cultivated more than 500 hectares of farmlands in the 2017 cropping season.

    He said that his command was focusing its attention on horticulture, irrigation, fishery and livestock production.

    He said that the prisons service was currently rearing 55 cows, 55 goats and some sheep in the Birnin-kudu Prison.

    He said that the animals would be killed to feed the inmates.

    “The inmates too need balanced diets because they are also human beings; they are only victims of circumstances,” he said.

    On skills acquisition, the controller said that the inmates were being taught carpentry, general wood works and laundry services to enable them to become self-reliant whenever they regained their freedom.

  • 248 condemned prisoners in Plateau prisons – Controller

    248 condemned prisoners in Plateau prisons – Controller

    Mr Neol Ailewon, Controller of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) Plateau Command, says 248 prisoners are on death row in prisons across the state.

    Ailewon who made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Monday, said that condemned convicts, of which only three were female, hail from different parts of the country.

    “We have 248 condemned convicts in custody in the various prisons within this command, of which three of them are female.

    “For someone to be condemned, it means he has committed a serious offence against the state.

    “Managing this set of inmates is indeed a difficult task, considering the fact that they know they have been condemned by law.

    “But as correction officers, we are trained to handle the good, the bad and the ugly, and we try to cater for them while in custody,” he said.

    The controller also disclosed that 1,120 convicts were serving various jail terms while 516 inmates are awaiting trial in the seven formations under the command.

    “We don’t have issues handling the convicted inmates, because they are serving their terms in jail and certain of leaving someday.

    “So they relatively behave well, and in most cases, we use them to ensure peaceful atmosphere in the prisons, and they are the sole beneficiaries of the training on skills that we give our prisoners,” he said.

    Ailewon appealed to the government, wealthy individuals and groups to support the service in ensuring that the inmates return to the society as reformed persons.

  • Lagos lawyer files suit challenging denial of access to Kirikiri Prison

    Lagos lawyer files suit challenging denial of access to Kirikiri Prison

    A Lagos-based lawyer and activist, Chief Malcom Omirhobo, on Monday dragged the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) before a Federal High Court Lagos, for allegedly denying him access to inmates.

    Joined as defendants in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/895/17, are: The Comptroller General of Nigeria Prison Service, The Controller of Prisons in Lagos State and one Mr Yomi Oluwaniyi.

    Omirhobo is seeking a declaration that the refusal by the third respondent, to allow him access to prison inmates to afford them free legal services, constitutes an infringement on his fundamental rights.

    He is seeking a declaration that the Kirikiri Medium Prison is a public place and so, the third defendant has no right to deny him access to same.

    Omirhobo is also seeking a declaration that his intimidation by the third defendant, by hitting his chest and further preventing him from representing prison inmates, was a flagrant violation of his right.

    In a supporting affidavit, the activist avers that he has always been granted easy access to the prison and its inmates without hindrance.

    He averred that on May 26, he visited the Kirikiri Medium Prison as usual to offer free legal services to inmates who could not afford to pay for same.

    According to the plaintiff, before he could gain entrance to the prison gate, he was stopped by the third defendant who requested to know about his movement.

    He averred that he had politely replied the third defendant, “I know my way already, thank you”.

    The plaintiff averred that the third defendant who felt unsatisfied with the answer, pushed him backward and insisted that he must explain his movement.

    Omirhobo averred that he felt humiliated by the sudden attack of the third defendant, and so, he immediately requested to make a report to the officer in charge of the prisons.

    He averred that following continuous interference by the third defendant, he was denied access to the senior officer and asked to go home and return another day.

    According to the plaintiff, the prison is a public place and its officers have no right to deny any legal practitioner access to inmates to offer free legal services.

    He, therefore, demands a public apology by the defendants, on the ill treatment meted on him.

    In addition, Omirhobo is claiming the sum of N1million and N250,000 against the defendants, as damages for rights infringement and cost of the legal action respectively.

    He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further restraining him from gaining access to prison inmates.

    However, no date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.