To address rising food costs and enhance the welfare of inmates, the Federal Government of Nigeria has approved a 50 percent increase in the feeding allowance for inmates beginning in August 2024.
In an interview with PUNCH Online on Thursday, Abubakar Umar, the Nigeria Correctional Service‘s spokesperson, confirmed the increase.
He referred to it as the “first phase” of a more comprehensive review that aims to improve prisoner living conditions.
“The inmate feeding allowance has been increased by 50 percent, effective from August 2024. This is just the first phase,” Umar said.
He went on to say that there would be more reviews coming up, especially given how much food is becoming.
“The FG will also consider additional reviews. This is just the first phase. Normally, there is a period when inmate feeding allowances are reviewed. Following a presentation during the budget process, the FG deemed it necessary to adjust the allowance due to the rising cost of food. Further adjustments are expected,” Umar explained.
The NCoS’s most recent statistics show that there are presently 84,575 prisoners in Nigeria. Over N24.4 billion has been allotted to the NCoS for food and catering supplies in the 2024 budget year.
The public has expressed concern about the need for an increase in the feeding allowance, particularly after it was disclosed in December 2023 by Haliru Nababa, the Controller General of the NCoS, that N800 was spent daily on feeding each of the 900 dogs in the service, while N750 was allotted for each prisoner.
Recently, a viral video from the Afokang Custodial Centre in Calabar, Cross River State, showing prisoners being served poorly prepared meals brought attention to the problem of inmate welfare.
As a result of the public uproar, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, ordered an investigation into the conditions at the facility.
The NCoS reaffirmed that an investigation is underway and emphasized that the event does not represent the nation’s overall standards of care or dedication to the welfare of prisoners.
