Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, has explained why the Federal Government is investing in the building of prisons across the country.
The Minister spoke at the commissioning of some projects and newly acquired vehicles at the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
According to Dambazau, most of the existing prisons in the country were over a century and needed to be replaced
“We are building prisons but we are not increasing the number of prisons”, he said.
“Most likely, we are reducing it. Most of our prisons are more that a century old. What we are doing is to build new ones that meets the global standard.”
Dambazau said, the new direction of the current administration was to focus on the persons involved in criminal acts and not the crime itself, saying it was the only way to reform offenders.
“We have shifted focus from the crime to the criminals. We are not seeking vengeance for the fact that the offender is human and can change,” he said.
He urged the NPS to take good care of the vehicles and other projects executed by the government.
Dambazau further stated that there would be more improvements in the Service when the Nigerian Prisons and Correctional Service bill is finally accented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.