Prison authorities plan self-sufficiency to cater for increase in inmates
The Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) has said that it has activated efforts to revive the farm centres in prisons to make the agency self-sufficient and carter for the increase in the number of inmates.
According to the NPS, the total number of inmates in prison formations nationwide is over 68,000, as at last March 6.
Of the number, 46,351 representing 68 per cent are awaiting trial, while the remaining 21,903 are convicts.
Comptroller General of NPS, Jafaru Ahmed, said with the revival of the farm centres, the agency will be self-sufficient in food, and sell the surplus to members of the public.
Preparatory to this, the prisons CG explained that 22 tractors had been acquired, and boreholes sunk.
He said, “In 2016 budget we purchased so many farm machineries like tractors and other kinds of implements. We have also dug so many boreholes, fish-farming and the rest of them. These would be used to reposition our farm centres.
“What we intend to do when the budget for 2017 is passed is that we have picked three (3) out of fourteen farm centres. The idea is to make sure that we specialize in different farming processes. Like Kujama, we intend to set it up strictly for the production of maize.
“We want to see the production of maize all year round, not only during the raining season but also during the dry season. We have budgeted some amount of money to sink boreholes for irrigation purposes to ensure the success of these programmes,” Ahmed said.
