"NIGERIAN PRISON SERVICE CAPACITY BUILDING OF PRISON PERSONNEL TO BE A TOP PRIORITY" - Dr. PETER EKPENDU

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The Controller General of Prisons, Dr Peter Ekpendu, (mni) has promised to strengthen capacity development of his workforce to enable the Prisons address some of the perennial problems facing the Service. He said this during a national retreat on Development of the Nigerian Prisons Service Training and Capacity Building Strategic plan for 2015 – 2020 held in Rockview Hotel Abuja.
The programme which was co-sponsored by Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) attracted a number of development partners from DFID, UNODC, ICRC, Swiss Embassy, US Embassy, British High Commission, UNICEF, Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), etc. The Prison boss noted that the collaboration of donor agencies was needed to develop a process that will help set the reform agenda of the Nigerian Prisons Service, identify and encourages support for the implementation of intervention strategies in a coordinated and sustainable manner over the short, medium and long term.

Relating Prison institutions to societal development, the prison boss noted that correction facilities are established to keep out of circulation those acting outside the law in order to create the needed environment for social economic interaction to thrive.

However, such incarceration is expected to accommodate safety and humaneness because every prisoner has a date with the society – the day of release. Therefore a comprehensive package of reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration is of utmost importance in order to guarantee safe return to the society and reduce incidence of re-offending. The primary areas of interest thrown open for discussion include, strengthening personnel capacity in the following areas: Human Rights and Treatment of Prisoners; Reformation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Prisoners; Management of Pre-Trial Detainees; Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment; Statistics/Data Management; Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases including HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Tuberculosis; Security and Management of Terrorists and other High Risk Offenders; Management of Young Offenders, Women and Babies in Prison and other Vulnerable Prisoners.

As usual the problem that kept resonating was management of pre-trial detainees which presently constitute over 72% of the Prison inmate population in Nigeria. Statistics has it that the Nigerian Prisons Service has a total of about 65,000, out of which 72% are awaiting trial and only 28% convicted members. Although female members constitute 2%, their care is still a challenge due to the peculiarities of some coming with pregnancy, babies or even putting to bed while in prison.

The society will no doubt be a safer place if offenders are assisted to be of value first to themselves, their immediate families and then to the society at large.

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