By: Uthman Baba- Sirajdeen
The current hardship and hunger across the country might have been responsible for the death of three inmates awaiting trial in Minna old Correctional center.
The inmates were rushed to the Minna General Hospital on Wednesday in the green Maria Hilux van belonging to the old Minna Correctional center .
Hospital sources told NewsSpacng online that the inmates who were rushed to the general hospital were malnourished.
Three of the inmates were already confirmed dead before they were rushed to the hospital by the correctional officers.
It was gathered that two other inmates awaiting trial lost their lives in Kontagora Security Medium Correctional early last month as a result of under-feeding while three other inmates died in Kagara Correctional center.
Similarly, NewsSpacing was informed that the quality of food served to the inmates is very poor as it doesn’t have taste just as the quantity is not even enough to satisfy them as the ratio of the meals has reduced as compared to the quantity served before the present hardship.
The wife of the governor of Niger State Hajiya Fati Umar Bago had during Quranic Walimat Of seventeen inmates of the old Minna Medium Correctional Custody donated 250 bags of rice and 250 bags of maize to the inmates at the correctional facility.
Also some non governmental organizations NGOs donate some food items to the inmates to help in cushioning their suffering while in detention yet the inmates were subjected to hunger resulting to the alarming proportion of malnutrition revenging the correctional facility.
Most of the victims according to NewsSpacing online sources ” were those inmates awaiting trial that their case is still pending in court without knowing their fate and when to leave the custody.”
A total of 157 of such inmates are currently on awaiting trial at the old Minna Medium Correctional Custody for the past five years without knowing their fate while the convicted inmates serving various jail terms stood at 89:
In the same vein, the Minna Correctional Centre has been experiencing shortage of water resulting to inmates trekking to long distance to source for water .
The state Controller of the service in Niger Hamisu Mohammed Isah had confirmed the shortage of water to Journalists during the Quranic Walimat of seventeen inmates which took place some time in January 2024.
He told Journalists that as a result of the scarcity of water at the correctional center epidemic is likely to ravage the Custodian Center if the necessary support is not extended to the Correctional Custody by the Niger State government
He explained that shortage of water recorded at .the correctional center was as a result of the broken boreholes in the Correctional center.
However on the issue of the death while speaking in a telephone interview with Journalists, on Thursday, the Controller Of Nigerian Correctional Service (NIS) Hamisu Mohammed Isah neither confirmed nor denied the report saying he doesn’t talk to Journalists because he was also a journalist during his National Youth Service (NYSC), in Imo State.
” I Don’t talk to Journalists, I was a journalist before you became Journalist. I served My NYSC in Imo State Newspaper the statesman where were you then.” ? He queried.
