The Federal Executive Council has approved the purchase of 49 operable vehicles for the Nigerian Correctional Service for a total of N965.9 million.
Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, revealed this to State House Correspondents at the conclusion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet meeting this week.
The cars to be found locally, according to the Minister, will complement those already in use by the Correctional Service.
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“The Nigerian Correctional Service, through the Ministry of Interior, presented a memo to council and received clearance to spend N965, 902, 524.58 on the acquisition of 49 operable and Green Maria cars,” he added.
“These 49 vehicles will be added to the 513 operational and Green Maria vehicles that have previously been purchased between 2016 and 2020.” This is not to say that we have met the Nigerian Correctional Service’s vehicle needs, but it is worth noting that since the beginning of this administration, a concerted effort and commitment has been made to ensure that the Correctional Service is equipped with operational tools to meet its mandate of keeping the facilities safe and having the logistics to move inmates from the facilities to the over 5022 courts scattered throughout Nigeria.”
The Interior Minister responded to recent calls for his resignation, saying that such calls were unnecessary in light of the frequent attacks on correctional facilities across the country.
“Just to name a few, our facility in Imo was assaulted in April, Kaba in September, Abulungu in October, and Jos in November.” Nobody wants the end of justice to be so susceptible, no matter how devastating those attacks were. Because correctional facilities are the ultimate conclusion of the administration of justice, they represent the final end of the criminal justice system.
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“So, morally, the State owes itself the responsibility of safe custody, which must not be violated, so we must appreciate the enormity of any successful attack on our detention facility, which I do.” However, I’d like us to consider these issues in the context of our current security situation.
“Our men died in Jos, which means that the best we could put there was there, and when your best isn’t good enough, it’s no longer a question of inability to prepare or failure to prepare; it’s just that we couldn’t hold the defense as expected,” he explained.
However, Aregbesola stated that the authorities involved are stepping up their efforts to guarantee that similar attacks do not occur again.
“We are stepping up our game and will prevent and even eliminate any such opportunistic attack; we are working with all arms of government, particularly security, to make our detention facilities impregnable, and we will not rest until we achieve that; that is the assurance I want to give Nigerians.” “As for whether it requires my resignation, I still don’t see any need for it because the attacks were not successful due to a lack of planning,” the Minister remarked.
