Prisons Decongestion: FEC approves N2.8bn for digital connectivity

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved a N2.8 billion
contract for the installation of a digital integrated system to
reduce prison congestion across the country.

The three-hour meeting was presided over by Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo.

Speaking with reporters at the end of the meeting, Abubakar
Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) said the web-based
system will improve the justice system in the country.

According to him, the system will assist stakeholders in the
office of the AGF, Nigeria Prisons Service, Nigeria Police,
including selected courts to monitor real-time progress of pending
cases and movement of suspects between the courts and prisons.

He added that it will also track those who have overstayed their
prison terms as well as those wrongly imprisoned.

Malami said the new system will replace the practice of setting
up government committees that usually visit prisons to attend to
individual cases and identify inmates that deserve pardon or
prerogative of mercy as part of efforts to decongest the
prisons.

“The system would be operated by retrained staff of the Nigeria
Prisons Service, while there would be systemic checks to
substantiate the input or data of suspects put into the system to
avoid compromise and other forms of corruption,” Malami said.

Udoma Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, said FEC
approved two contracts for the N-Power Build programme of the
National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).

He said this is to impart skills in young non-graduates.

Udoma explained that the N-Power Build programme is a
non-graduate programme that seeks to deliver accelerated training
and certificated skills to 75,000 Nigerians between ages of 18
years and 35 years.

“It aims to build a high crop of highly competent and skilled
workforce of technicians, artisans and service professionals, who
will be trained and tooled and transitioned annually to take up
jobs as electrical installation technicians, plumbing and pipe
fitting installers, masons, carpentry and gentry experts, welders,
fabricators, professional painters, building technicians and so
on,” he said.

“The focus has so far been zone by zone. Today, the contract for
the Southeast zone of Nigeria was awarded to Hitech Investment Ltd
at the sum of N122.8 million. It covers all the states in the
south-east.

“The one for the north-west zone was awarded to Noble Ventures
Limited in the sum of N145.1 million and it covers all the states
in the north-west.”