Minister defends dismissal of NCoS officials, reaffirms zero tolerance for corruption
From Blessing Olaifa, Abuja The Federal Government on Tuesday clarified the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of senior officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), including an Assistant Controller General, describing
From Blessing Olaifa, Abuja
The Federal Government on Tuesday clarified the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of senior officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), including an Assistant Controller General, describing the action as a clear demonstration of its zero tolerance for corruption and abuse of power within correctional facilities.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the affected officers were dismissed after being found culpable of corruption, abuse of authority, and other misconduct, noting that they had breached the trust and ethical standards expected of them.
He added that other officials found wanting would also face disciplinary action as the Investigative Panel on Corruption and Abuse of Power concludes and submits its final report for implementation.
Tunji-Ojo spoke while declaring open a stakeholders’ engagement for the presentation and validation of the report of the Independent Investigation Panel on alleged corruption and other violations against the NCoS.
The event, held at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, was attended by key figures, including the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; the Controller-General of the NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche; and the Chairperson of the panel and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani.
Other participants included the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council, Aliyu Bagudu; the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu; as well as representatives of UNICEF and the Body of States Attorneys-General and Commissioners for Justice.
The minister explained that the investigative panel was constituted about 16 months ago following allegations of corruption involving some prison officials, particularly in relation to the custody conditions of cross-dresser Bobrisky. He commended the panel for its work and stressed that correctional facilities must not be places where inmates are subjected to cruelty or degrading treatment.
Tunji-Ojo further stated that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to reforms that will transform correctional centres into institutions focused on rehabilitation, reorientation, and effective reintegration, in line with international standards.
He also praised the current leadership of the NCoS for its role in advancing reforms and called for the full implementation of non-custodial measures as part of efforts to decongest correctional facilities nationwide.
He said the measures became necessary to address the challenges of overcrowding, feeding of inmates, and other systemic problems, stressing that over 67 percent of inmates are those awaiting trials, while 90 percent of the inmates are state offenders.
Tunji-Ojo highlighted ongoing rehabilitations of some Correctional facilities across the country, stating that the government would relocate some of them, considering that urbanisation had caught up with them.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, called for concerted efforts to address the criminal justice system in the country. He said the steps taken by the Ministry of Interior regarding the Panel were bold, geared towards accountability and transparency in the management of Correctional facilities in Nigeria.
Fagbemi, who commended the Minister of Interior and his team, and the Panel members for doing a thorough job, said the Panel's recommendations would go a long way to address systemic gaps within Correctional institutions in the country.
The Controller-General of the NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche, expressed gratitude to the Minister of Interior for the wisdom and courage it took to establish the Panel.
"I also wish to commend the Chairman and members of the Panel for the seriousness, diligence, and professionalism with which they discharged what was, by any measure, a weighty national assignment," Nwakuche added.
"The establishment of this Panel was not an act of condemnation. It was an act of accountability — and accountability, properly understood, is the foundation upon which trust between an institution and the society it serves must be built.
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"The Nigerian Correctional Service exists to do more than confine. We are mandated to correct, to rehabilitate, to reintegrate, and above all, to preserve the dignity of every person within our custody because dignity is not forfeited at the point of conviction.
"That mandate places enormous demands on our officers, our infrastructure, and our leadership. And it places equal demands on our willingness to be honest about where we have fallen short.
"Today's engagement is, therefore, not a ceremony. It is a reckoning — and a constructive one. We have not come here to trade in defensiveness or denial. We have come to listen, to understand, to reflect, and to commit. The findings of this Panel — wherever they are difficult to confront — must be confronted. Not because the Service is defined by its failures, but because it must be measured by its response to them," Nwakuche said.
"I also want to say this plainly: the majority of our officers serve with professionalism, dedication, and quiet sacrifice, often in conditions that are far from ideal. The misdeeds of some must not be permitted to eclipse the honour of the many," he further stated.
