By Edwin Philip
Authorities of the Nigerian correctional service have been ordered to restore the entitlements of seven Assistant Controller General of Corrections who were prematurely retired from service before their due time.
The order was handed down at the day 6, of second independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption, abuse of Power, Torture, Cruel, Inhumane, and Degrading Treatment Against the Nigerian Correctional Service, holding at Aso hall of Abuja Continental Hotel Abuja.
The panel chaired by Dr.Magdalene Ajani, said affected officers were laid off without notice, when their retirement from service was not due, as such their entitlement inliu of service, due ranks and it benefits, vehicle as well as support staff inline with the service rules should be given to them.
The affected retired officers who made their case through their lawyers and also appeared in persons, said they were ask to retire in 2021, base on what was said to be the convention in military and paramilitary officers within the rank of the newly appointed service chiefs will have to retire, a development they said is strange to the service rules of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
One of the affected officers who is now a traditional ruler in Oyo State, Alhaji Chief Yusuf Oladikpo Kalasi, said some of their entitlement as retired Assistant General of Corrections were not given to them, thanking the panel for listening to them and asking the service and board to correct the wrongs.
“It is because of the appointment of our junior to become the Controller General while we the senior should go, which has never happened in the service, why did they have to stop our salary immediately, we have gotten to half of the month, as if a personal vendetta is been applied” he questioned..
“We thank God the president and commander in chief of the armed forces, president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the minister of interior Olubunmi Tunji-ojo came up with this investigative panel to write the wrongs and for all of us who were grieved to bring our matter before the committee, we thank God that the chairman of the committee, Dr Magdalene Ajani, allowed us to come and air our views as we have just concluded now, we are all satisfied with the outcome of that panel, we pray that very soon we shall see the physically realization of the report” he added.
According to him, the secretary of the committee, Dr Uju Ogomoh, said their matter is given a adequate attention because if such anomaly is allowed to go on unchallenged, future officers will face the same ordeal when they are retired or forced to do so.
The panel secretary in her submission, had said that the issue of officers recruitment, deployment, promotion, the role to ensure during the recruitment, discipline, as well as the appointment of Controller General should be done in such a manner that people should trust the process, mechanisms should be set to resolve matters, so that fewer people will be going to courts.
On issues bothering on the reforms of the Correctional Service, organisations such as the Committee Against Torture Nigeria (CAT) National Judicial Council (NJI) the Federal Ministry of Justice, among others presented their reports.
However, their reports showed that custodial centres are in short supply of medications, operational vehicles, poor living conditions in the cells, poor dieting, no education facilities, others are poor welfare, no recreational facilities, no residential quarters like baracks for officers in most locations.
The Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Judicial Council, speaking on the available laws in the areas of non custodial measures, like plea bargain, virtual court sitting, national minimum standard are not utilized, attributing it to lack of political will and lack of proper implementation of the laws among others.
On their part, the National Judicial Institute, offered to trained judges and their support staff along side other stakeholders, training to prevent human right violations, non custodial services, ensure effective judiciary oversight of Correctional Centres and design a frame work for monitoring observation that have been considered are put into practice.
Other matters considered at the day six sitting of the panel are the issue of intimidation of an officer by his superior, officers taking of loans from financial institutions and failing to pay, which is capable of bringing disservice to the service among others.