Dehumanising prisoners aggravate crime rate—Oshiomhole

Former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday, expressed anger over the inhumane treatment of inmates in custodial centres nationwide, saying security dogs belonging to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) are better fed than prisoners.

Oshiomhole, who is the chairman of the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Interior, spoke when the Comptroller General of NCoS, Haliru Nababa, who was accompanied by the senior management staff of the Service appeared before the panel to defend their 2024 budget proposals.

The lawmakers had asked Nababa the number of inmates and dogs in custodial centres nationwide and how much the agency spends to feed them daily.

Nababa told the committee members that the Service spends N800 per day to feed each of its 900 dogs while just N750 is allocated to feed each prisoner, the majority of whom are awaiting trials, at N250 per meal.

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He said, “We have 81,358 inmates of which 53,362 are awaiting trial. We feed each inmate with N750 daily and they are fed 3 times daily (N250 for each square meal).

“We have 900 security dogs and to feed a dog each day is N800.”

Responding, Oshiomhole said: “The figures given here suggest that you have been dehumanizing Nigerians”.

He wondered why “dogs are better fed than inmates in correctional centres, many of whom are awaiting trial.”