The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, appears to be in a hurry to delivery renewed hope to Nigerians, as he moves to decongest Nigerian prisons.

This is another significant milestone after he ensured Nigerians can now get their international passports in few weeks. 

Now, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says the decongestion of the prisons will come in few weeks.

On the Thursday Morning Show on the Arise TV, Tunji-Ojo said his ministry had set up a panel to review correctional facilities in Nigeria.

Fines Of Over 4,000 Inmates

He said there were many inmates who were incarcerated simply because they were unable to pay some fines, and his ministry was more interested in them.

The minister said he would be partnering with the private sector to pay the fines of over 4,000 inmates.

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Nigeria has a growing prison congestion problem.

With over 70,000 detainees, over 50,000 of them are awaiting trial.

Of this number, 353 are on death row in Lagos, and there are over 3,000 on death row across Nigeria.

Indeed, the plan to decongest Nigerian prisons is coming in good time.

Tunji-Ojo has been one of the most hardworking ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.

Earlier, he pushed the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to clear a backlog of passports in record time.

The backlog was opening doors to corrupt practices in the sector.

Nigerians who need their passports within one month opt for agents who extort them.

With the two-week timeline, patronage of agents will fizzle out soon.