About 67% of inmates in correctional facilities across Nigeria are awaiting trial, according to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Tunji-Ojo believes strong synergy between the federal and state governments is key to better correctional services.
“We can work out a synergy, you know, states that want to have their own correctional centers, by law, they’re entitled to have it and federal too, but we must also understand that about 72 per cent of our inmates are state offenders and about 67 per cent or so are waiting trials,” Tunji-Ojo said on the current affairs show.
“So it means two-thirds are state offenders, but the Federal Government is the one taking responsibility now.
“I don’t like to shift blame. As Mr. President will always say, ‘We were elected to produce results, not to make excuses.’ So we’re not here to make excuses, but as a government, we will interface with our governors. We will come together to be able to have a shared strategy towards solving these correctional problems,” he stated.