A non- governmental organization (NGO),The Prisoners Right Advocacy Initiative (PRAI), has called on the federal government to probe into the poor feeding of inmates across the country.
The founder of PRAI Adetola Kazeem made the statement while speaking with Newsmen yesterday.
Recalling on the aledged incident of the viral report of poor feeding of inmates at the Afokang Custodial Center in calabar.The minister of interior in a statement through his media aide,Babatunde Alao said that the allegations is under investigation.
Kazeem said that the poor feeding of prison inmates is not only in calabar prison,that it cut’s across the country.
He said “What has happened in Calabar prison is not strange. In fact, many of the inmates, particularly those who have support from their families, do not even feed from the prison’s kitchen and that is because of the deplorable state and the low quality of the food that is served.”
“The Minister of Interior should not just focus on Calabar alone, let him have such unannounced visits to many of the prisons. There will be more to be done, it should not just be one. Beyond him, he should also send people as undercover to some of these prisons, then he will be shocked at the result of what he will be getting.”
He stressed on the budgetary allocation for feeding of inmates, that the economic situation in the country, the inflation, the food prices, is a call for improvement in the budgetary allocation.
He also said That the federal government need to look at the foundational issues and ensure there is proper monetary and evaluation, so that what has been approved also gets to the inmates.
on his part, the interior minister said that any breach of the standards of care and dignity to which inmates are entitle will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable.
Tunji-Ojo said that any lapses in the quality of food, sanitation, and welfare of inmates would not be tolerated.
“The Minister of Interior will not condone any form of mistreatment or neglect of individuals in custody, the findings of the investigation would be made public, and necessary disciplinary actions would be taken.”
