The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has thrown his weight behind the ongoing prisons reform and decongestion by the Federal Government, noting that the state government is working on a 50-hectare correctional centre to strengthen the justice system in the state.
He made the submission during a courtesy visit by members of the Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion, led by the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Justice Ishaq Bello, at the Government House in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday.
The governor said the country’s democracy cannot thrive without an effective justice system, adding that his administration is committed to providing needed support to make the entire judicial process more efficient.
He stressed that achievements recorded by his administration were largely due to enforcement of law and order in the state, noting that for law and order process to be complete, the prison system must be looked into.
“As a state, we are committed to reforms of the prison system. We have decided to acquire 50 hectares of land to establish a correctional center. We are committing large expanse of land to enable us see our prisons as more of a correctional center,” the governor added.
According to him, the state government is in talks with Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) in Abuja, to design a correctional centre which will provide space for more vocational and educational facilities that will assist inmates or convicts to be reformed.
On awaiting trial inmates in the state, Obaseki said his administration is determined to reduce the number of inmates awaiting trial by more than 50 per cent.
He urged the presidential committee to develop a sustainable system that will provide solutions to the challenge of overcrowding in prisons across the country.
The governor also disclosed that the state government’s human capacity development initiative, EdoJobs, is ready to partner with the NPS, to train inmates and prepare them for reintegration into society.
In his response, justice Bello said the committee was inaugurated with the task of moving round prisons in the country and recommending ways to decongest them.
He noted that Edo is the 14th state members of the Committee have visited.