Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has restated commitment towards protecting custodial facilities nationwide. The Public Relations Officer (PRO), Abubakar Umar, who disclosed this in an interview with The Guardian, observed that prisons are part of the larger society.
He noted: “In fact, it is a microcosm of the society. It is not isolated from activities on the outside. We are all aware of the security situation in the country. Being a part of the society, it is not shielded from the unfortunate security challenges we are facing.”
Recalling the assault on Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Umar explained: “The Kuje attack was an unfortunate one, which drew the ire of most Nigerians. It was an unfortunate incident, which the Service has nipped in the bud.”
He continued: “At the moment, we have deployed technology gadgets in Kuje and we are monitoring every movement in that custodial centre from a situation room recently commissioned by Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
“So far, we have recaptured a good number of escapees and we have deployed overt and covert measures to track down those still at large.”
Speaking on the level of collaboration between NCoS and other agencies towards securing custodial centres, the spokesman, submitted: “Security is everybody’s business. We have recognised, as a service, that we need sister agencies, as well as all Nigerians, to meet our mandate of securing correctional facilities and reforming offenders.”
“So, in the light of this, the Service collaborates with security agencies, government parastatals, non-governmental agencies, civil societies and the media, among others to further its operations.
“For instance, one of the numerous synergies we have is with the National Open University of Nigeria, (NOUN), which has led to establishment of special centres of the university in many of our custodial facilities. We are open to collaboration, so long as it will promote our mandates.”
On whether NCoS needs to have armed personnel from sister agencies to secure formations across the federation, Umar replied: “Sure, there is. And that is an option that the Service has since cashed in on. If you go to most of our facilities, you would see personnel from other security agencies guarding our facilities alongside our armed squad personnel.”
Given attacks on personnel and custodial facilities, Umar was asked whether there is an efficient insurance policy in place for both personnel and the facilities.
He responded: “Yes, there are several insurance measures for our staff. We have the Corrections Welfare Insurance Scheme (CWIS) and Correctional Officers Corporative Scheme (COCOS).
“They are provisions made to ensure our officers and their families have insurance over uncertainties. These are in addition to the Federal Government’s pension scheme for all federal workers. The Service has also recently activated its reward scheme for staff with exceptional performance.”
Following the rebranding from Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) to NCoS, Umar was asked how the development had repositioned the Service for efficient delivery.
He answered: “To a great extent. The notion before the change of name was that prison facilities were established for punitive and retributive reasons only.
“But in this new regime, it is all about the behaviour modification of the offender through correctional practices, which will equip them to lead crime-free lives after discharge.”
