The National Economic Council (NEC) has granted approval to State governors to rehabilitate prisons in their States.
The decision was taken after a meeting presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja and followed the briefing by the Minister of Interior, General Abdulraman Danzabau (rtd) on the poor condition of prisons in the country.
Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi explained that members unanimously agreed on the need to decongest prisons and improve the living condition of the inmates.
He said the Council further urged the private and the public sectors to collaborate for more effective and humane prison services.
According to Umahi, state governors were also advised to visit the prisons regularly to determine those inmates who are supposed to be out of prison.
He said: “States that have the capacity to build prisons should go ahead and do so, including the involvement of private sector participation.
“The governors should do a number of things to decongest the prisons. The state chief judges should frequently visit prisons, while the governors should either sign death sentences of those condemned or reduce their sentences.”
The governor disclosed that about 70 per cent of inmates are awaiting trial, while some of them could be used for labour.
