Abolaji Adebayo 
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said that there could not be the required reformation of prison services without relocating some correctional centres.
The minister said this yesterday at Ikoyi Correctional Centre in Lagos, adding that the relocation became imperative to restructure the decaying infrastructure and curtail the security risk the prisons posed to the society because of their closeness to urban centres.
He stated that President Bola Tinubu’s led administration has determined to ensure the purpose for changing the name from Prison to Correctional Centre. He said the current state of some of the facilities would not make the government realise the purpose, hence the relocation of the centres.
The Federal Government had announced that it was planning to relocate 29 correctional centres from urban areas. Tunji-Ojo, while inspecting the facilities including Nigerian Immigration Service offices and the Marriage Registry in Lagos, said the plan still holds as the government is making an effort to commence the project across the country.
He also emphasised the need for collaboration among the security agencies and other agencies under the ministry to make great achievements. He said: “Obviously, of course, we need to do the reform and ensure interagency collaboration. So I wouldn’t want to say too much about that.
We will ensure the efficiency and management of government resources in such a way that Nigeria will be safer for the people. We realised and personally, I’ve always said that urbanisation is real. “Urbanisation has come to the correctional centre facilities. This facility (the correctional centre), I see no reason why it should still be here.
And of course, you can see that it sits with the magistrate court, church, and residential buildings, I mean, there are a lot of commercial structures around so obviously there is a need to move it from here. “We’re actually looking at it, to see how we can perhaps relocate some of these correctional centres and we’ve been very keen in that regard.”
On e-gates being built at the Airports, Tunji-Ojo said the e-gate in Abuja airport is ready while waiting for its commissioning by the President. In December 2023, the Federal Government revealed its plan to deploy electronic gates (e-gates) at selected airports across the country.
It described the e-gates technology as an advanced border management system aimed at improving border security and easing the movement of passengers coming into and going out of the country. “Very soon the President will commission it, we’re good to go. We just want the president to commission it. So I’m very sad again about infrastructure.
We’re taking it one at a time, but let me say this very clearly, I have to say this. You see, I always say the president became president a year ago, he inherited a lot of issues, a lot of problems. “We’re not shying away from the problems, we’re facing the problems and we will solve the problems.
Nevertheless, Nigerians cannot expect a problem of 100 years to be sorted completely in one year. This correctional centre you see here was built in 1955. If I’m not wrong, you know, so you know how long that is.
Today, Keffi Correctional Centre was built in 1820, while Suleja was built in 1914. Do you know how long that is?” he stated. Meanwhile, the minister said the government would look at the anomalies he observed in the agencies he visited in Lagos such as a notice of acquisition of government properties.
