President Bola Tinubu has approved 29 correctional centres to be relocated from their urban areas to different locations in the country.
This was disclosed by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, who announced the development while operating some operational vehicles for the Nigerian Correctional Service on Friday, February 21.
In June 2024, the minister first announced the relocation plan, stating that the move was imperative to curtail the potential security risk that the prisons posed to society because they were too close to the urban centres.
According to the minister, some of the prisons included the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Apapa, Agodi, Enugu and Suleja. The minister disclosed the development while speaking as a guest on ‘The Big Interview’, hosted by O’tega ‘The Tiger’.
According to the minister, the relocation of the correctional centres was necessitated by the audit that was carried out on the country’s 256 correctional centres.
The minister faulted the creation of a correctional centre in Ikoyi, Lagos, stating that when a jail attack happened in such a centre, it would not only damage the country’s image but worsen the state’s insecurity.
Tunji-Ojo then stressed that the long-term plan of his ministry was to relocate about 29 correctional centres which have been caught up with urbanisation.
He said urbanisation was a major issue, whether “we like it or not”, stating that the ministry was about to achieve the relocation of some correctional centres in Ikoyi Apapa, Agodi, Enugu and a couple of others. During the interview, Tunji-Ojo said even if it was one that he was able to do, it would be well.
He said:
“What is Ikoyi (prison) doing by sharing a fence with a polo club? What is a correctional centre doing in Ikoyi? God forbid, if there is a prison break in Ikoyi or a prison attack in Ikoyi, do you know the kind of damage that you will do to our reputation as a country, even the social fabric and everything?
