- Eleven thousand officers of the Nigerian Prisons Service have been promoted
- The service said the officers' promotion is aimed at boosting the morale of the rank and file
- The service also noted that the federal government has included the plan to recruit 6,000 officers in the next year's budget
The Nigerian Prisons Service on Thursday, December 7, announced the promotion of 11,000 officers of the service.
The comptroller general of the service Jafaru Ahmed said the promotion of the officers is an effort by the NPS to boost the morale of the rank and file.
Ahmed who received an award of Icon of Crisis Management in Nigeria from the Centre
Mr. Ahmed who received an Award of Icon of Crisis Management in Nigeria from the Centre of Crisis Communication (CCC) in Kaduna said a list of qualified officers for the next promotion exercise will be out soon.
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He said: "I am glad to disclose that the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) has promoted over 11,000 Personnel to boost staff morale and their productivity. We have also compiled the list of qualified officers for the next promotion exercise which is coming out soon."
The service said the officers' promotion is aimed at boosting the morale of the rank and file. Photo credit: PRNigeria
Ahmed said the federal government has included the plan to recruit 6,000 officers in the next year's budget.
He said the recruitment of new personnel will boost to the capacity of the service in achieving its statutory mandates and enhance several deliverable both on the part of inmates and the staff in general.
Ahmed added that the NPS is proposing to have a system that provides conditions of imprisonment above the minimum standard prescribed by the United Nations.
He noted that with the active support of the minister of interior Abdulrahman Dambazau, the federal government has approved an upward review of budget allocation to address the myriads of challenges bedeviling the service.
Commending command spokespersons and the public relations officer of the NPS, Ahmed said: "It is relevant to state that within two years of my stewardship as the comptroller of prisons, we have taken active steps to provide operational vehicles in order to improve access to justice for those awaiting trial."
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"Significantly improved on the quality of prison cells by renovating old ones and constructing new ones where space allows; embarked on office and barrack renovations; procured large quantity of assorted drug, the type the service has not had in a long while, and distributed them to prison formations and also purchased sundry items to make life better for the inmates.
The ailing farm centres are also being revived through procurement of machinery to improve inmates' training and increase productivity," he said.
Also speaking, the executive secretary for CCC, Yusuf Anas, a retired air commodore called for the speedy passage of a bill on prison reforms that is pending at the National Assembly.
Anas said the passage will help place the NPS on a path in tune with international standards.
"The bill would establish a Correction, Reformation and Integration Centre to provide supports to persons in the area of reformation and youthful offenders and other related matters.
The law will improve the general welfare of prison inmates by providing for educational and vocational training to inmates to discourage them from relapsing into crime. It seeks to increase public participation in the administration of prison service by encouraging the public to bring complaints and recommendations on matters related to inmate welfare to the prison service," Anas said.
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NAIJ.com earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari freed 500 inmates of Kurmawa Prison in Kano.
The president said the action is part of his administration's plan to de-congest prisons across Nigeria.
The also decried the level of theft of public funds by those who led the country between 1999 and 2014.
Ex-prisoner turns advocate for release of former inmates - on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng