The inmates have not been fed by the authority for days, according to report made available to CAPITAL POST in Minna on Friday. They suddenly became sick and unconscious and were rushed to the Minna General Hospital on Wednesday in the Green Maria Hilux van belonging to the old Minna Correctional center
The inmates were confirmed dead before arriving at the hospital.
Investigations revealed that the inmates have not been fed for the past three months resulted to malnutrition.
It was also gathered that two other inmates awaiting trial lost their lives in Kontagora Security Medium Correctional early last month as a result of under-feeding while three other inmates died in Kagara Correctional center.
CAPITAL POST recalled that the wife of the governor of Niger State Hajiya Fati Umar Bago had during Quranic Walimat of seventeen inmates of the old Minna Medium Correctional Custody donated 250 bags of rice and 250 bags of maize to the inmates at the correctional facility.
Also some non-governmental organizations NGOs donated food items to the inmates to help in cushioning their suffering while in detention, but it could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report, if the food items are being used to feed inmates, or may not be enough for the number of inmates.
A correctional centre staff who did not want his name disclosed said the affected victims “were those inmates awaiting trial that their case is still pending in court without knowing their fate and when to leave the custody.”
A total of 157 of such inmates are currently on awaiting trial at the old Minna Medium Correctional Custody for the past five years without knowing their fate while the convicted inmates serving various jail terms stood at 89:
Also, acute shortage of water has ravaged the Correctional center as the inmates now trek a distance to source for water for their consumption.
The state Controller of the service in Niger Hamisu Mohammed Isah had told journalists during the Quranic Walimat of seventeen inmates which took place some time in January 2024.
He told Journalists that as a result of the scarcity of water at the correctional center epidemic is likely to ravage the Custodial Center if the necessary support is not extended to the Correctional Centre by Niger State government
He explained that shortage of water recorded at .the correctional center was as a result of the broken boreholes in the Correctional center.
Speaking in a telephone interview with Journalists, on the death of the inmates, Thursday, the Controller of Nigerian Correctional Service (NIS) Hamisu Mohammed Isah who neither confirmed nor denied the report told this reporter that he don’t talk to journalists because he was also a journalist during his National Youth Service (NYSC), in Imo State.
“I don’t talk to journalists, I was a journalist before you became a journalist. I served my NYSC in Imo State Newspaper the statesman and where were you then?”, he asked.
