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FG orders evacuation of Abeokuta prison.
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Panel flags minors detained with adults, calls for urgent reforms.
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Ilorin facility under scrutiny for housing adults in juvenile centres
The Federal Government has ordered the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to evacuate inmates from its Abeokuta facility within four weeks due to what it described as deplorable sanitary conditions.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the directive was issued by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr Magdalene Ajani, during the third public hearing of the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption and Other Violations Against the NCoS in Abuja on Monday.
“We can’t put up the pictures of what we saw there — horrible. So, it’s an urgent thing that needs to be done,” Ajani said, stressing the immediate need for remedial action.
Ajani also instructed the NCoS to submit a detailed status report on all juvenile custodial centres in the country within two weeks. She condemned the illegal detention of minors alongside adult inmates, warning that such practices violate correctional regulations.
During the hearing, the panel also raised concerns over irregularities at the Ilorin custodial facility, which reportedly operates as a borstal or halfway home but houses individuals aged between 30 and 43 years. The chairperson ordered the immediate removal of all adults not meant to be in such facilities, stating that “a lot of transactions are going on” there.
Panel Secretary, Uju Agomoh, said the investigation covers corruption, torture, inhumane treatment of inmates, and systemic lapses in correctional operations. She assured that the panel’s findings would help reform the NCoS into an institution that meets national and international standards.
The investigative panel was inaugurated in 2024 after Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo suspended several correctional officers over misconduct, including preferential treatment for high-profile inmates.
