Tinubu Approves Relocation of 29 Correctional Centres, List Emerges

• President Bola Tinubu has reportedly approved the relocation of 29 correctional centres in some parts of the country
• Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, made this known during the commissioning of some operational vehicles for the Nigerian Correctional Service
• The minister first announced the plan to relocate some of the correctional centres in June 2024 while speaking on security concerns of their locations in the urban area

President Bola Tinubu has approved 29 correctional centres to be relocated from their urban areas to different locations in the country.

This was disclosed by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, who announced the development while operating some operational vehicles for the Nigerian Correctional Service on Friday, February 21.

When Tinubu's minister announce correctional centres' relocation

The Punch reported that in June 2024, the minister first announced the relocation plan, stating that the move was imperative to curtail the potential security risk that the prisons posed to society because they were too close to the urban centres.

According to the minister, some of the prisons included the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Apapa, Agodi, Enugu and Suleja. The minister disclosed the development while speaking as a guest on ‘The Big Interview’, hosted by O’tega ‘The Tiger’.

According to the minister, the relocation of the correctional centres was necessitated by the audit that was carried out on the country's 256 correctional centres.

Some correctional centres that will be relocated

The minister faulted the creation of a correctional centre in Ikoyi, Lagos, stating that when a jail attack happened in such a centre, it would not only damage the country's image but worsen the state's insecurity.

Tunji-Ojo then stressed that the long-term plan of his ministry was to relocate about 29 correctional centres which have been caught up with urbanisation.

He said urbanisation was a major issue, whether "we like it or not", stating that the ministry was about to achieve the relocation of some correctional centres in Ikoyi Apapa, Agodi, Enugu and a couple of others. During the interview, Tunji-Ojo said even if it was one that he was able to do, it would be well.

He said:

“What is Ikoyi (prison) doing by sharing a fence with a polo club? What is a correctional centre doing in Ikoyi? God forbid, if there is a prison break in Ikoyi or a prison attack in Ikoyi, do you know the kind of damage that you will do to our reputation as a country, even the social fabric and everything?

See the minister's interview here:

Court remands Hafdoh killer in correctional centre

Legit.ng earlier reported that a Magistrate court in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, has ordered the remand of Abdulrahman Bello, the acclaimed Islamic cleric, who was alleged to have murdered Adefalu Hafsat Yetunde

Hafsat Yetunde is a final-year student at the Kwara State College of Education who was allegedly murdered by Bello for ritual purposes.

No counsel represented the suspect at the court and he was arraigned alongside other accomplices.