“Urgent Need For Medical Personnel” — FG Approves Recruitment Of Senior Health Officers For Correctional Service

The Federal Government has approved the recruitment of more senior health officers to address the shortage of medical personnel in the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

The announcement was made during the ongoing Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power, Torture, and Cruel, Inhumane, and Degrading Treatment Against the NCoS. Speaking at the panel, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, emphasized the urgent need to strengthen the medical capacity of the service.

Dr. Ajani called on the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to provide more psychologists and psychiatrists to the NCoS to enable effective functioning. She also urged the service to collaborate with drug manufacturers to ensure an adequate supply of medications, stating, “You need a collaboration with drug manufacturers. Build the bridges and empower the people that will take up from you.”

Addressing the abandoned Kano Custodial Centre, which has remained unused for eight years due to minor issues such as door handles, Dr. Ajani directed the service to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the facility and assess its viability for use.

Meanwhile, Deputy Controller General (Inmates Training and Productivity), Ibrahim Idris, criticized societal attitudes toward ex-prisoners, noting that stigmatization often discourages reintegration and can make inmates prefer remaining in custody even after serving their sentences.

“Experiences over the years have shown that once inmates are in custody, some families disown and disassociate with them as a result of stigmatization. The NCoS is often presented with wrong information from the inmates regarding their families. Therefore, the service faces numerous challenges in accessing the families of inmates due to wrong information, incorrect addresses, and lack of logistics for welfare officers,” he said.

Idris further called for collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide legal education and emotional support to families of inmates.

He also highlighted the poor conditions of correctional facilities, describing them as old, dilapidated, and overcrowded, with sanitation and general living conditions that “leave much to be desired.”