The Plateau State Custodial Centre has dismissed allegations of poor treatment of inmates and a lack of proper medical care inside the prison located in Jos.
Reports making the rounds had earlier quoted an unnamed inmate saying they were being subjected to a life of suffering with horrific meals, lack of proper medical care and poor feeding in the Jos Prison.
But while reacting to the report carried exclusively by Sahara Reporters, the Public Relations Officer in charge of the Plateau State Command of the Centre, GY Longdem, in a statement on behalf of the Controller of Corrections, dismissed the allegations as “false, misleading, and a gross misrepresentation.”
In the statement, Longdem described the narrative of starvation as baseless, insisting that the quality of meals served in correctional centres are structured, monitored, and aligned with nutritional standards provided by health professionals.
The statement titled “Rejoinder to Sahara Reporters publication of an alleged poor treatment of inmates and lack of medical care in Jos Custodial Centre” reads:
“The attention of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Plateau State Command, has been drawn to a misleading news published by Sahara Reporters of a purported “outcry of inmates in Jos Custodial Centre over poor treatment and lack of medical care/attention.
“The Command wishes to refute this false claim and categorically state that the news/ information is false and malicious and did not emanate from Jos Custodial Centre or any of our centres in the Command, and as a matter of fact, the Service is doing it’s best to ensure all the inmates under our custody are adequately fed, well taken care of and their medical needs are met accordingly.
“Most recently, the department supplied medical stores and drugs to all our Centres and also some NGO’s brought some as well.
“There is no form of neglect, abuse or deprivation of any sort in our Custodial Centres. On the issue of water shortage which is a general issue in the area particularly considering the dry season, the authority has worked round the clock in collaboration with the Plateau State Government to ensure steady availability and supply of water to the center.
“It is worthy of note that the era of corporal punishment/punitive measures in the Nigerian Correctional Service is long gone as various reform programs have been drawn to rehabilitate, reform and reintegrate inmates back to the society on discharge. No Correctional Officer is allowed to mishandle or maltreat any inmate in our centres.
“On the issue of the Center being dominated by a certain ethnic/native group “Langtang indigenes”, this does not reflect the true and present reality on ground as out of the entire personnel working in the Center only six(6) are from that ethnicity.
“The Command is deeply saddened and concerned that a platform such as Sahara Reporters would publish such claims and allegations without officially verifying facts from the Command authorities.
“The Command therefore enjoin the public to disregard such claims, malicious allegations and an attempt to tarnish the good work/efforts of the Nigerian Correctional Service and it’s image.
“The Controller General of Corrections remains committed to humane treatment of inmates and their welfare in our custody.”
