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The independent investigative panel on the alleged corruption and abuse of power, torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment in the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) on Monday has commenced the third phase of its public hearing in Abuja.
The panel was constituted by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in September 2024, following allegations of corruption and gross misconduct involving NCoS officials and cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky.
The panel held the first two phases of its hearing in September 2024 and March 2025.
The members of the panel include the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior, who serves as the chairperson, Magdalene Ajani; secretary, Uju Agomoh. The rest are Iyke Ezeugo, Eva Omotose, Nasir Usman and Modupe Onyalechi.
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As part of its mandate, the panel, in November 2024, undertook field visits to different correctional centres across the country to ascertain their state.
The chairperson of the panel, Mrs Ajani, noted that the third hearing was not to indict the NCoS but to restore integrity within the system.
“As we gather here today, we continue a solemn and necessary process, a process driven by a collective resolve to ensure that the Nigerian Correctional Service operates in line with the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and respect for the rights and dignity of all Nigerians.
“The first and second public hearings of this kind have provided important insights into the nature, scope, and patterns of the allegations brought before us. They also reaffirmed the complexity of the issues and the issues of history,” she said.
In the aftermath of the previous hearings, the NCoS dismissed an Assistant Superintendent of Corrections, Efe Onakpoya, for allegedly making false claims against the Service in his efforts to expose a colleague, Ogbule Obinna, who he claimed took an inmate out of the Ebonyi facility illegally to see his girlfriend for a conjugal meeting.
However, Mr Obinna, who the whistleblower accused of illegally taking an inmate out of custody, was not punished. The NCoS management claimed it punished Mr Onakpoya for allegedly make untrue claims against the Service.
Monday’s hearing
Reading the objectives of the third hearing on Monday, the secretary of the panel, Mrs Agomoh, explained that the focus of the hearing would be on thematic issues.
Monday’s focus centred around children and young persons in custody, the conditions of juveniles in correctional facilities, compliance with child protection laws, minors in custody struggling with addiction, monitoring and oversight, and the relationship between NCOs and remand homes.
Among the attendees of the event are representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Nigerian Police Force, the Legal Aid Counsel of Nigeria, the National Assembly and the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Recommendations on child detention
The representative of the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists (NACP) and Nigerian Psychological Association (NPA), Abigail Oni, made a presentation on the assessment of minors who were incarcerated in adult facilities.
Ms Oni said children “housed in adult facilities face severe emotional, psychological, and developmental harm.”
She recommended the immediate relocation of minors to appropriate remand homes and the establishment of online centres in every area to ensure accessible, safe, and rehabilitative care for minors.
She called for a “holistic profiling of all inmates with minors and psychologically vulnerable individuals identified and separated from the general adult population.”
She also advocated a comprehensive drug and mental health assessment programmes for minors alongside rehabilitative interventions and family reintegration support.
Other recommendations include a focus on rehabilitation for “meaningful behavioural change and structured, evidence-based rehabilitation programs led by a qualified psychologist with measurable outcomes.
“Recruitment of more psychologists to address manpower shortages, prevent burnout, and improve service delivery. Decongestion of facilities through judicial reforms to address delays. Provision of adequate logistics, including operational vehicles, to enhance service delivery.”
Ms Oni highlighted the development risks faced by children born to female inmates, and she recommended measures for their protection. She noted that the NACP and NPA were available to help with the achievement of the recommendations to the NCOS.
No minors from #EndBadGovernance in NCoS facilities
While fielding questions about possible continued remand of minors arrested during the #EndBadGovernance protest held in August 2024, the representative of NCoS, I.N. Idris, there is no such minors in the any of the Service’s facilities. He noted that the minors were in police custody.
“During the #EndBadGovernance protests, there was no minor who was admitted into the NCoS. No single minor was admitted into the NCoS. There was an attempt, but when they were brought in, because of their age, we did not admit them. They were in police stations throughout the time.”
However, the panel noted that during their visits across detention centres, they saw minors at correctional centres, which was a violation of Section 35 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019.
READ ALSO: Lawmakers decry poor living condition at Nigerias correctional centres
The police arrested about 52 minors during the #EndBadGovernance protest in August 2024. They were detained for over two months. This led to a public outcry.
During the hearing, the NCOS admitted that some women were kept with children in a medium correctional centre at Suleja. The panel criticised this and requested their immediate separation.
They recommended training for officers, making judicial use of already existing structures.
The NCoS urged the panel to assist in organising a workshop to bring the judiciary and correctional centres together to avoid overcrowding and the establishment of remand homes by State governments.
However, the panel asked the NCoS to take into consideration the recommendations, including sanitation, the separation of minors from adults, and the training of officers deployed to juvenile facilities.
The panel asked the NCoS to provide evidence of action within four weeks.
