The Nigerian government disclosed on Monday that it expends N3 million daily to provide meals for approximately 4,000 inmates in prisons nationwide. This revelation, according to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, underscores the necessity for the ongoing effort to decongest custodial centers across the country.
Several months ago, Minister Tunji-Ojo initiated a decongestion campaign upon assuming office, with plans to release around 4,000 inmates. With a total of 80,804 inmates housed in 253 custodial facilities, the financial burden of feeding these individuals has become a significant draw on the Federal Government’s resources.
“To feed these 4,068 inmates costs the government about N3 million a day. Multiply N3 million a day by 365 days,” the minister explained during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Before the decongestion initiative, the minister noted that N500 million was required to settle fines and facilitate the release of inmates. This move sparked debates, with human rights lawyer Femi Falana urging a review of the plan.
Minister Olubunmi clarified that the funds for the fines were raised from the private sector. He argued that a comparative analysis revealed it was more cost-effective to pay fines for the inmates. The minister emphasized that, since the money did not come from the government’s coffers, proceeding with the decongestion drive made practical sense.
“We raised N585 million from the private sector to offset these fines and compensations to save the government an average of N1.1 billion per annum in feeding. That’s just the economy of scale,” he added.
In essence, the minister questioned the justification of spending N1.1 billion annually on feeding when the cost of settling fines and compensation amounted to N585 million, especially when the latter amount was not sourced from the government’s budget.