An impeccable source at the Nigeria Correctional Service who crave anonymous told the CAPITAL POST that State governors are reluctant to sign death warrants of those convicted to death.
According to the source, “since the inception of this democracy in 1999, no governor endorsed his signature on any death warrant of those convicts and the facilities keep on increasing with convicts inmates on death roll daily across the country.
“For the past 23 years of democracy, apart from the former governor of Edo State, Adams Aliyu Oshiomole, that signed death warrant of a convict, no any other governor has signed death warrant.
“I can tell you that we have over 6,500 inmates on death roll (IDR), in our correctional facilities across the country”, CAPITAL POST reliably gathered.
It was further gathered that Correctional centres in Niger State, despite having in custody inmates on death roll (IDR), do not have any gallow for the execution of death punishment instead they depend on Kaduna for the execution.
Findings further revealed that Correctional centres in Niger State are over congested beyond capabilities in congestion while some of the facilities now accommodate thrice original capacity for inmates.
“For instance, the Minna old correctional centre built in 1955 to accommodate 190 inmates, currently has 500 inmates while Minna new medium security Correctional Centre also built in 1991 for 190 inmates now accommodate over 495 inmates.
However, it was learnt that while State governors are refusing their signatures to death warrant, the figures of inmates on death roll have been on the increase from courts.
This, it was learnt, is also contributing to the problem of congesting correctional centres especially in Niger State where a high court recently presided by Justice Maimuna Aminu Abubakar sentenced 11 persons to death.
“It must interest you to know that these convicts on death roll usually Mastermind the jailbreak across our correctional facilities in the recent jail break recorded in some Correctional centres in some part of the country”
Alhaji Salman Abdulkadir the State Comptroller of Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), disclosed that several steps have been taken towards decongesting correctional facilities in the State to create an enabling environment for inmates.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with CAPITAL POST in his office in Minna, Salman Abdulkadir explained that the immediate past Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Aisha Lami Bawa Bwari in her valedictory visit to the Correctional Centres, said many inmates on awaiting trial and some convicted inmates breath the air of freedom.
“During the visit, the former Chief Judge came with all the magistrates to attend to deserving cases especially those who have spent more period in detention. I want to commend the former Chief Judge for assisting in decongesting the stress in our correctional facilities.”
