4,000 inmates locked up, can’t afford to pay fines – Minister of the Interior

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of the interior, has stated that more than 4,000 people are being held in prisons and jails because they cannot afford to pay the fines imposed on them by judges and magistrates.

He made this remark while bemoaning the fact that more than 70% of all inmates in the country’s prisons and jails are awaiting trial.

Over 70% of the 79,000 inmates are listed as “awaiting trial,” according to the report.

More than 4,000 inmates are incarcerated because they cannot afford to pay their fines. According to the Correctional Service Act, “we believe we can reduce the number of inmates in our correctional facilities by approximately forty percent by exploring non-custodial alternatives.”

The minister said the EU could help with the deployment of technology to improve the country’s border management infrastructure.

If the alternatives to incarceration outlined in the Correctional Service Act are investigated, he said, the prison population could drop by as much as 40 percent.

According to a statement released by the minister’s media adviser, Alao Babatunde, on Saturday, the minister made the remarks during a visit from the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi.

He emphasised the significance of the EU to Nigeria’s economic and social growth. We have a long history of cooperation with the EU, which goes beyond simple bilateral aid, as he put it.

The continent of Africa would benefit greatly if the problems of crime and migration there could be resolved. Our problems are more of an EU problem than they are a problem anywhere else in the world because of the shared borders between Africa and the EU. And because we are determined to find a solution, we will try everything.

The minister pleaded with the European Union to back the federal government’s initiative to audit all prisons.

Tunji-Ojo said that major changes were being made at the Ministry, particularly to the ways in which travel documents are processed and information is shared.

He also said, “We have begun the process to unbottle the bottlenecks in our international passport application and collection process. We’ve come a long way today. We’re also exploring options for cutting down on identity theft. We want to restore the honour and prestige of the green passport.

The EU will provide technical assistance in managing the illegal aspect of migration and in reducing human trafficking and people smuggling, the ambassador had previously assured the minister.