By Frank Momoh
The Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has said federal government has embarked on infrastructural development to ease congestion in the Custodian facilities across the country.
The Minister in his address at the commissioning of the newly constructed state headquarters, in Osun State Command in Oshogbo explained that, one of the gaps the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had been grappling with since inception is infrastructural deficits which is virtually present in every sector of the nation.
He said this additional facility shall greatly boost the morale of officers to put in their best, moreso, as it is the believe that it will also keep those in the Custodian facilities in good and healthy condition with optimal skills and formal education to make them useful to themselves and the society after their release having served out their term.
He disclosed that, the entire capacity of the custodian facilities is 57,278 but had 68,778 inmates which made the facilities over populated and over stretched in the cities.
He tasked state governments to do the needful to ensure that all necessary measures are put in place to decongest these facilities of inmates who ordinarily should be released on time with quick dissemination of their cases at the state levels.
The Minister congratulated the management of the Custodian facilities on the safe keeping of the inmates in the face of COVID-19. He also said that government has embarked on pardon of offenders with less cases in an attempt to decongest these facilities and to keep the inmates safe especially with the covid-19 pandemic still very much around the nation.