THE new Controller-General, Nigeria Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, has said that his administration would aggressively combat security breaches, including drug trafficking and other acts of indiscipline at the custodial centres.
The CG disclosed that he has set up the CGC Monitoring Team to check unethical actions and practices by officers and inmates that could compromise the security architecture at the various correctional facilities across the country.
The service had in recent times recorded jailbreaks caused by attacks by gunmen and alleged collusion by NCoS officials. Hundreds of inmates on the loose had yet to be recaptured.
But speaking during his inaugural meeting with senior officers at the NCoS headquarters in Abuja on Friday, Nababa stated that he would not tolerate any form of insubordination, noting that any unprofessional act would be sanctioned.
He sought the support of the officers, while promising transparency, judicious deployment of resources, prudence in the utilisation of funds and accountability.
The CG stated, “We need to remind ourselves that no organisation thrives in lawlessness. We shall, therefore, ensure that discipline remains the guiding principle in all our engagements.
“Note that I have established a CGC’s Monitoring Team to maintain eagle-eye on operational conducts and report unwholesome practises to my office for immediate action. May I state that this administration will not tolerate any act of indiscipline capable of compromising our security structure and tainting the name of the service.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, cases of trafficking in hard drugs, communication equipment, absenteeism and all forms of insubordination and inimical practices shall be viewed seriously. The administration will not hesitate to apply necessary sanctions on violators as prescribed in the NCoS Act, 2019,” he cautioned.
The CG disclosed that his policy thrust would cover safe custody and training of inmates; staff welfare; provision of logistics and infrastructure maintenance and full operationalisation of the Non-Custodial Services as well as deployment of technology to protect the custodial centres.
“The first among the responsibilities of the Service is to secure the inmates. It must be noted that the Service exists because the inmates are in safe custody. Therefore, the security of our custodial centres must be held sacrosanct and shall be among the top priorities in my administration,” Nababa noted.
Promising to drive a paradigm shift, the CG said he would encourage behavioural change among the inmates, many of whom he said have embraced education.