Igbawua pledges support to NPS

The chief commissioner of the Public Complaint Commission (PCC), Hon. Chile Igbawua has pledged to support Nigerian Prisons Service towards ensuring the administration of justice in Nigeria

He made this known during a courtesy call on the Controller General of Prisons at his office in Abuja. According to him, the visit was to oversee the operations of the Service towards the dispensation of justice, inmates’ welfare and to explore on the areas lacking that needs government intervention.

Hon. Igbawua also said that the PCC is to serve in all jurisdictions from the Federal, State, and Local government including registered companies towards the course of justice and ensure that justice is served and not abused.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Controller General of Prisons (CGP), Ja’afaru Ahmed appreciated the Chief Commissioner for the visit and informed that the Service has witnessed quite a number of transformations in the Service in the last three years and is still ongoing.

The CGP enumerated the Service achievements to include improved inmates welfare, upgrade of infrastructure, training and retaining of staff, adequate inmates’ treatment through education and skills acquisition, provision of logistics to ensure easy movement of inmates to and from court. All these interventions led to the 2018 UNESCO award for Literacy and Skill Development, many other national and international awards in 2018.

Ja’afaru further stressed that the major bane of the Service is overcrowding in most urban Prisons, speedy passage of the Nigerian Correction Bill 2018 and staff that were recruited into the Service with fake Certificate who are crying foul for wrongful dismissal from Service.

Furthermore, CGP Ahmed expressed confidence in the PCC to diligently handle complaints made against the NPS, noting that while the Service is certainly not devoid of systemic flaws, some of the complaints are frivolous.