The Executive Council of Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO), led by its Coordinator-General, Leftist Omobude Agho, on a courtesy call to the Nigeria Correctional Service, Edo State Command on 3rd April 2025 at its state headquarters in Benin City.
During the meeting, it was discussed that there should be proper collaboration and synergy with the service.
Other issues are: “Collective progress in ensuring proper functionality and full implementation of Restorative Justice (RJ), within the holding facility so as to possibly decongesting it.
“The welfare of inmates, particularly, the terrible kind and quality of food, should be of paramount importance and reviewed without compromise, as the current situation of inmates in the correctional facility is worrisome.
“Checkmating the menace of some officers of the service who are extorting members of the public who go to visit relatives in custody.
“The urgent need to improve and revamp the artisanship department (workshop) of the correctional facilities, so that inmates can take advantage to become useful to themselves and society at large after gaining freedom.
“That the agency should maintain its constitutional core responsibility as a Correctional Service.”
Responding to the few observations raised, the Controller of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Benin-City, Edo state, who resumed in December 2024, Mr. Sunday .E. Oyakhire, stated that the agency under his watch is committed to its constitutional obligations and in a hurry to prove that the best people can come out from behind the walls, but quickly admitted to sincerely desire the support of well meaning citizens to give sufficient support to the centre, which he explained to be a major practices in most areas he has served previously in other states.
While appreciating the visit, he expressed his commitment to do things differently, noted all the points of observations for prompt actions and further appealed for prompt and regular feedback from the Civil Society movement and all well-meaning citizens.
Furthermore,he used the opportunity to appeal to Edo state government to extend its hands of fellowship and support to the correctional facilities in the state,noting that though the felicity is federal government owned but the inmates are indigenes of Edo state mostly.
