The Senate Committee on Interior has resolved to jerk up the daily feeding cost of a prisoner per day, to N1,000 from N750 proposed by the executive in the 2022 budget.
This is as the committee planned to meet the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and other stakeholders on expeditious justice delivery in decongesting the nation’s prisons.
The Acting Comptroller General of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Mr Idris Isa, had in his presentation before the Committee during 2022 budget defence said that the current N450 feeding cost for each of the Prisoners on daily basis, has been increased to N750 as proposed in the 2022 budget estimates.
Moved by empathy and compassion, the Committee Chairman, Senator Kashim Shettima (APC Borno Central) and members, frowned at the N750 feeding cost per day proposed for each inmate across the custodian centres. On behalf of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP Enugu North) said going by the value of Naira today and increasing costs of consumables, N750 is insufficient.
“Mr Chairman, I will urge this committee to jerk up the proposed N750 feeding cost per day on each of the inmates at the custodian centres to at least N1,000.00 because no grown-up Nigeria today can survive with N750 per day as far as feeding is concerned,” he said.
Seconding the motion, Senator Betty Apiafi (PDP Rivers West), said the proposed N1,000 should be the minimum and must be reflected in the final budget to be passed for the correctional service. The Chairman of the committee accordingly ruled in favour of the motion by hitting the gavel on the table to that effect.
