Correctional centre: Security dogs eat more than inmates, says CG

By Editor

The Controller General of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Alhaji Haliru Nababa, on Thursday made a starked revelation about feeding of inmates in the countries Correctional centres.

Nababa said the service spends more to feed dogs than the inmates.

He said a security dog consumes  N800 daily  while N750 is expended daily to feed an inmate.

The NCS boss said the service had 81,358 inmates nationwide with 53,362 of them inmates awaiting trial.

Nababa said this while responding to a question from the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Adams Oshiomhole, during the service’s budget defence at the National Assembly yesterday in Abuja.

“We feed each inmate with N750 daily and they are fed three times daily (N250 for each square meal).

“We have 900 security dogs and to feed a dog each day we spend N800,” he said.

Oshiomhole threatened to step down the consideration on the 2024 budget of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) over insufficient information.

The committee chairman said he was unhappy with the services that NCoS was rendering to inmates.

“Your organisation has transformed from Nigeria Prison Service to Nigerian Correctional Service, but you have yet to change in your attitudes toward inmates.

“It’s not just your fault, because the government appropriates little money for you. It is either you don’t feed the inmates or you feed them only once. Even at that, it’s with very miserable food.

“This is why they have completely emaciated and some can never live a decent life again, even when they did not commit an offence.

“You all know the price of food items in the market. So, how can you look us in the eye and tell us that you feed a man in Nigeria with N750 a day? How much is a bottle of water?” he queried.

The Edo North senator said his committee would not be in a haste to approve any budget for the service until it received satisfactory answers.

He requested for a breakdown of the number of inmates and security dogs at the correctional centres and how they were fed daily.

“I would like to see a breakdown of how you feed the inmates. If you say you feed inmates three times a day with N250 each, how many dogs do you have and how much does it cost to feed them daily?” Oshiomhole queried.