The Kano State Custodial Centre, popularly called Kurmawa Central Prison, has evacuated the faeces it released from its sewage system into a surrounding community, following an investigation by Daily Trust newspaper and Trust TV.
Daily Trust reports that the Kano State government had ordered the custodial centre to restore its sewage system and evacuate the faeces that had accumulated on its premises.
The directive followed an investigation by this newspaper, which revealed that the custodial centre, which houses over 1,500 inmates, had been releasing faeces periodically through its drainage canals, which run into the community’s gutters.
Experts say the action posed a serious health and environmental hazard to residents of the community.
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The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Kano had described the release of faeces as a leak, which, it said, was a result of overcrowding at the custodial centre.
But since the Daily Trust report, which was published on December 3, residents of Durumin Iya, the community affected by the pollution, told this reporter that a delegation from the Kano State Ministry of Environment had paid a sudden visit to them.
“Since the visitation of the Ministry of Environment, the custodial centre has not released the faeces. They have stopped releasing it,” said Malam Umar Tijjani, a resident of the community.
“The delegation of the ministry suggested that when they come out for sanitation at the end of the month, they will clear the remaining areas where there is faeces,” he added.
When contacted, the Director, Environmental Pollution and Climate Change, of the state Ministry of Environment, Abba Adamu Takai, said the ministry had given a three-day notice to the custodial authorities to address the issue, after receiving a complaint from the residents.
He said the ministry had also visited the custodial facility to inspect the situation and ensure that the faeces were evacuated and the sewage system was repaired.
“We have also sent a committee to inspect the area again, and when they returned, they confirmed with visual evidence that the custodial facility had evacuated the faeces,” he added.
The director also urged the residents to collaborate with the custodial facility by taking part in the sanitation activity to clear their gutters in order to avert any environmental nuisance.
He explained that the ministry would continue to monitor the custodial centre and its surrounding community, as well as other areas in the state, to ensure compliance with environmental standards and regulations.
