The Independent Investigative Panel on alleged corruption and other violations against the Nigerian Correctional Service has issued warning to officers, directing them to adhere to extant rules.
Speaking at the ongoing second public hearing of the panel on Thursday in Abuja, the panel’s chairperson, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, emphasised that the time for impunity was over.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the panel’s ongoing second public hearing had uncovered a web of corruption, nepotism, and disregard for rules within the NCoS.
Officers have been found to have formed unhealthy relationships with inmates, tolerating their misbehaviour in exchange for “perks”, a development that created a culture of impunity, where inmates feel emboldened to disregard rules and regulations.
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The panel also discovered that some inmates receive special treatment, with officers using their offices for personal meetings with inmates’ girlfriends and wives.
This has raised questions about the fairness and equity of the treatment of inmates, and the potential for corruption and abuse of power.
Ajani expressed concern over the retention of a notorious officer at a particular centre, despite causing trouble.
She questioned the rationale behind this decision, emphasising that officers who failed to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism have no place in the NCoS.
She said: “All those pali-pali you’ve been having with inmates, you know some of them, when they stay for so long, they become your friends.
“And even when they are becoming a nuisance, you tolerate them because of the perks, because of the relationships you have established.
‘There is a lot going on in the custodial centres that is contrary to the standing order and the guides.
“Go back and clean your house.
“Please go back and sin no more, work in line with the extant rules.
“I’ve been to a centre where there are inmates who support the centre and so they have special treatment, so your own centre will not be different.
“But in that special treatment, let it be in accordance with the rules and regulations and that is what we are saying.
“There are a lot of things going on here, from what we have heard, it is not in accordance with the rules and regulations.”
The panel chairperson charged officers to comply with extant rules and regulations, warning that those found culpable would be dealt with accordingly.
Ajani emphasised that the panel would not hesitate to recommend disciplinary action, including dismissal and prosecution, against officers who failed to reform.
She added: “For your own good, it is advisable that you go back and work by the extant rules of service.
“So how you want to do it, all of you should first of all reset your brain and reset your attitude..
“Tell them ‘if we find you with a telephone now, from the staff who took the phone in, to the ones who received the inmates, it will not be funny for all of you.
“I want you to take this away so when you get there, tell your officer in-charge that you have been directed to work in line with the extant rules.
“You are here, you heard all the allegations.
“You heard your office is used for meetings of your inmates with their girlfriends and wives.
“So any officer who is aiding and abetting all these malpractices, I’m sure you people know them, fish them out to save yourselves.”
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