Group Tasks Correctional Centres Over Congestion, Mixing Minor Offenders With Hardened Criminals
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By the editor
A group, Civil Society Observatory Group on the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) has expressed its deep concern about the congestion of the Correctional Centres in Edo State.
Speaking during an advocacy visit to the Comptroller Nigeria Correction Centres in Edo, the Vice Chairman, Adesuwa Ehimuan lamented that the correctional and children welfare centres serve as a breeding grounds for hardened criminals as minor offenders are mixed with hardened criminals.
She said that some convicts jailed over minor offences leave the Correctional Centres only to become hardened and commit very grievous offence once they are out after serving their terms.
Adesuwa Ehimuan said: “We are also concerned that these centres are feared to be serving as a breeding ground for hardened criminals, as a result of convicts who commit simple offences being mixed with hardened criminals. The children’s welfare centres are not exempted. Some persons may leave these Correctional Centres from a lower level of crime to higher ones.”
According to the chairperson of the Edo State chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), the menace of congestion may have resulted in the episode of rejection of inmates while those awaiting trials in detention contributed a lot to the congestion.
Responding, the Assistant Comptroller , Mr. Smart Omonua said that hardened criminals such as those suspected to have committed heninous crime like murder, rape, armed robberies and those on death row are not mixed with inmates who commit minor offences.
Mr. Omonua disclosed that all the correctional centres in Edo State are currently on high alert as a result of the ongoing hunger protests in some states of the federation
He said that the Ministry of Interior is determined that there will not be a repeat of the unfortunate #EndSARS protest in October 2020 which led to the force release of thousands of prisoners in different correctional centres in Edo State.
