Nigerians have been comparing the Nigerian Correctional Service Hotel with the nation’s infamous correctional facilities.
The 105-room hotel said to be an investment of the Correctional Service Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society, was inaugurated by the immediate past Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, in 2021.
However, the sparkling pictures of the “investment” posted on the correctional service’s Facebook page, left many Nigerians wondering as to the irony of such building.
Presently, many correctional facilities are reported to have fallen short of the best standard.
Inmates are said to be held in dilapidated, overcrowded cells, leading to hazardous living conditions.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, recently stated that since the name of the Nigerian Prison Service was changed to Nigerian Correctional Service, there have been more jailbreaks in the country.
Unsatisfied with the images of the hotel, many users commented their frustration.
Sadeeq Shehu decried the modern facility in contrast to what he called prisons “built of mud”
He wrote, “While Nigerian Correctional Service (alias prisons) has a modern hotel, it has prisons built of mud. All Nigerian security agencies should be divested from all business ventures so that they can concentrate on the job.”
Sunday Peter Pepa opined that such an edifice is a deviation from the core objectives of the service.
“What is Nigerian Correctional service doing with hotel? This is a clear deviation from objectives. When there are so many challenges that require urgent attention in the prisons, this money should have been channeled to the appropriate areas,” he declared.
Osita Edekobi’s thoughts were not far from others.
He stated that the prisons should be better improved than having a hotel.
“Nigeria Correctional Service is an agency of the Federal Government, financed, sponsored, and empowered by the FG. What’s the essence of building hotels instead of improving our prisons across the nation? I hope it’s not what I’m thinking,” he wrote.
On assumption of office as the Minister of Interior, Dr. Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo, revealed plans that he would reform the correctional service, noting that his administration would see towards alleviating congestion in custodial centres as well as providing inmates with the opportunity for rehabilitation and reintegration into the society.
“I also would like to give assurance that under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, we would do everything humanly possible to reform our custodial centres, such as the decongestion of those centres —of course, with beaming life, and hope we’d groom inmates and help inmates to ensure proper re-integration into the society,” he said.
