Tinubu Approves Recruitment of 50 Doctors, 100 Nurses for Correctional Centres

 

Within his first two years in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the recruitment of 50 medical doctors, 100 nurses, and the deployment of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) doctors to correctional facilities across Nigeria.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday. He emphasized that the move was aimed at addressing decades-long neglect of healthcare in custodial centres, many of which are over a century old.

Dilapidated Facilities, Urgent Reforms

According to Tunji-Ojo, Nigeria currently has 246 custodial centres, none of which were established during the current administration. Many of these facilities date back to colonial times, with some exceeding 100 years in operation.

For example:

• Ikoyi Prison – established in 1956

• Suleja Custodial Centre – established in 1914, and later the site of a major jailbreak

The minister noted that some centres operated without a single doctor before the recent recruitment drive. He highlighted that about 12 correctional centres are currently undergoing rehabilitation, including the Port Harcourt prison and the Kuje facility, where major surgeries were recently conducted.

Healthcare and Infrastructure Upgrades

“Before this administration came on board, there were state commands without a single medical doctor for inmates,” Tunji-Ojo said. “President Tinubu has now approved the employment of 50 doctors, 100 nurses, and directed that NYSC doctors be posted to correctional centres.”

Beyond medical staffing, the government has been working to modernize infrastructure in key facilities. Rehabilitation projects are ongoing, with improvements ranging from structural repairs to enhanced medical services.

Security and Intelligence Efforts

Tunji-Ojo stressed that the government is also bolstering security within the centres through increased intelligence operations, in collaboration with other security agencies.

“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. We cannot fix all 246 centres in just two years, but we are making progress,” he said. “Yes, we are not where we want to be, but we are not where we were.”

While he declined to provide operational details, the minister hinted at strategic measures aimed at preventing jailbreaks and improving overall security in Nigeria’s correctional facilities.