The Federal Executive Council has approved the sum of N965.9 million for the purchase of 49 operational vehicles for use by the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of this week’s cabinet meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister said the vehicles to be sourced locally would complement the ones already in use by the Correctional Service.
He said: “The Nigerian Correctional Service through the Ministry of Interior presented a memo to council and obtained approval to spend the sum of N965, 902, 524.58 to procure 49 operational and Green Maria vehicles.
“These 49 vehicles will complement the 513 operational and Green Maria vehicles already purchased between 2016 and 2020. This does not in any way mean that we have met the vehicle needs of the Nigerian Correctional Service but noting that since the advent of this administration, concerted effort and commitment are being made to ensure that the Correctional Service is provisioned with operational tools to meet its mandate of keeping the facilities safe as well as having the logistics to move inmates from the facilities to the over 5022 courts scattered all over Nigeria.”
Commenting on the recent calls for his resignation as a result of the frequent attack on correctional facilities across the country, the Interior Minister said there was no need for such calls.
“Our facility in Imo was attacked in April, Kaba was in September, Abulungu was in October and Jos was in November; just to capture the attacks. As painful as those attacks were, nobody will really want the end of justice to be so vulnerable. The custodial facilities are the final end of criminal justice system because such facilities are the ultimate end of the administration of justice.
“So, morally, the State owes itself the responsibility of safe custody that must not be violated so on that account alone, we must appreciate the enormity of any successful attack on our custodial facility and I do so. But I want us to put these things in the context of our security situation.
“In Jos, our men died, meaning that the best we could put there was there and when your best could not suffice, it means that it is no longer a question of inability to make preparation or failure for preparedness it is just that at that instance we could not just hold the defence as expected,” he said.
Aregbesola however said that the authorities concerned are upping their game, to ensure that such attacks do not happen again.
“We are upping our game and we will prevent any such opportunistic attack and even make it impossible, we are working with all arms of government, particularly security to make our custodial facilities impregnable and we will not rest until that is achieved; that is the assurance I want to give Nigerians. As to whether it calls for my resignation, I still don’t see any need for that because it is not for lack of preparedness that the attacks were successful,” the Minister stated.
