The Controller General of Prisons, Peter Ekpendu, Ph.D, mni while speaking at the occasion, thanked Mr President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR and the Honourable Minister of Interior for the provision of the facility which is expected to bring significant relief to penal management in Kogi State, particularly Koton Karfe Old prison that has suffered series of attacks by hoodlums in desperate bid to free their colleagues in custody.
The Minister in his remarks noted that the 80-bed capacity prison with the capacity to accommodate 160 inmates was started in 1981 alongside 46 others across the country as a direct response to the problem of congestion but was abandoned in 1986 due to lack of funds. It was however readmitted into capital appropriation in 2013 as part of the present administration’s efforts to enhance safety and promote humane custody of prison inmates.
He enjoined members of the society to see security issues as collective responsibility hence, all hands must be on deck to ensure that criminals are promptly apprehended by assisting security agencies with useful information in order to nib crime in the bud.
DCP Francis Enobore
Public Relations Officer
