By Rukayat Shittu
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has vowed that the ministry will continue to provide the right leadership and policy direction for Nigeria correctional service and other agencies under the watch.
This came after the prevalence of the various threats to the Nigeria Correctional Services, which adversely affected custodial centers across the federation
Aregbesola stated this at the opening of the Second Ministerial Strategy Retreat organized by the Ministry of Interior on Thursday in Ilorin.
The retreat has the theme, “Developing Internal Security and Public Safety Towards A five (5) year Strategic Plan for Accelerated National Development”, considering the security threats being witnessed in different parts of the country which include armed banditry, kidnapping for ransom, militancy, terrorism among others.
He said the ministry of Interior has started several steps to achieve its goals, by commencing retraining of officers on how to respond to attacks, whilst providing more sophisticated weaponry for their use.
He noted, that the ministry has invested in the construction of 3,000 modern capacity custodial centers in each of the 6 geo-political zones which will ensure good living conditions for inmates and support the implementation of the NCOs Act 2019 to rehabilitate, reformation, and reintegration of inmates.
“The purpose of this Strategy Retreat is to provide a congenial environment for you to brainstorm on the ways and means of putting in place measures and strategies that would ensure the internal security and public safety of the citizenry. We, therefore, have the responsibility of forging the path towards the effective achievement of Mr. President’s mandate on Nigeria’s internal security.”
“With the enormous task ahead of us, we must all put on our thinking caps and articulate strategies that would promote collaboration and create the necessary synergy that would guarantee A safe and secure internal environment in our country. The task demands a clear and deeper understanding of the mandates of the Ministry and its Para-military Agencies as well as the Board.
Our understanding and appreciation of these
responsibilities will to a very good extent determine how far and how well we deliver on our mandates which will contribute to enhanced internal security and safety in the country.
In addition, a thorough analysis of an aspect of the Ministry’s mandate that deals with promoting citizenship integrity would widen and deepen our understanding of
our responsibility to the citizens and foreign nationals resident in our great country.”
Aregbesola said the retreat would provide participants with the opportunity to appraise the shared vision of stemming the tide of insecurity through the integrated efforts of all government entities.
He, however, noted that the retreat will last for three days, which will end 11th of December, 2021.
