The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has expressed concerns over the poor conditions of inmates at Nigeria’s borstal institutions.
Nigeria has three borstal institutions located in Ogun, Kwara and Kaduna States.
Mr Aregbeaola spoke on Tuesday at a national stakeholders’ meeting on a review of the borstal institutions and remand centres Act 2004 in Abuja.
The borstal centres are meant to hold and reform children who are in conflict with the law.
“I have always been perturbed by the deplorable state of the borstal institutions,” Mr Aregbesola said.
He noted that “the constitutional rights of the children in custody and their rights as contained in the Child Rights Act” have been of major concern to the government.
Citing provisions of the ‘Child Rights Act,’ the minister said “no child shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, held in slavery or servitude, while in care of a parent, legal guardian or school authority.”
But there have been issues bordering on the welfare and reformation of juveniles at the three borstal centres.
Consequently, Tuesday’s stakeholders meeting was to dialogue on a bill aimed at addressing the challenges bedevilling underage inmates in the country.
Mr Aregbesola said some “innovative sections have been incorporated in the bill.”
He listed them to include – the administration of the correctional institutions, training, skill acquisition and educational programmes, early release and after – care re- integration programmes.
In a goodwill message, the Controller General, Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, the draft document would enable the borstal institutions to be “better equipped to carry out their daily activities.”
Source: premiumtimesng.com
