Federal Government allocates N500 million to free 4,000 inmates

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced that the Federal Government will allocate N500 million to secure the release of 4,000 inmates from correctional facilities nationwide. This decision is part of a plan to decongest the overcrowded correctional centers.

In a recent interview with Arise TV, the minister shared the details of the initiative. He explained that there are currently 4,000 inmates in custody because they couldn’t afford to pay fines totaling over N500 million. The government is taking steps to address this issue and aims to release these inmates within the next four weeks.

Tunji-Ojo stated, “The first thing I did as soon as I assumed office was to establish a committee to review the conditions of our correctional centers. We discovered that more than 4,000 inmates, as I mentioned before, are still detained due to their inability to pay fines totaling about five hundred million naira. We have been actively engaging with the private sector to pool this money together.”

He added, “With the help of the private sector and other initiatives, we aim to settle the fines for over 4,000 individuals within the next month. This will significantly reduce the current inmate population from 79,000 to 75,000.”

Credit: Arise TV