The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his administration will strengthen partnership with the Nigerian Prisons Service, NPS, on the planned decongestion and reforms of prisons in the state.
He made the submission during a courtesy visit by the new Zonal Coordinator of Zone G Command of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Assistant Controller-General Vincent Ubi, at the Government House, in Benin City.
The governor said his administration is partnering with the NPS on prison decongestion by expediting actions on the Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, adding that the partnership with the NPS includes plans to construct a new prison, which will assist in the decongestion of existing prisons in the state.
Obaseki said, “Let us work together to design a new prison and correction centre in the state that will have the necessary facilities and a skills acquisition centre. We need to relocate the Benin Prison away from the city centre and construct a new one.”
Assistant Controller-General, NPS, Vincent Ubi who oversees prisons in Edo, Delta, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states, noted that one of the problems being faced in Edo State is congestion of prisons.
According to him, there are about 2,835 inmates in the state, with Oko Prison having 1,383 inmates, as against the 608 inmates it was built for, while the Benin Prison has 852 inmates as against the 230 inmates it was built for.