Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said that Nigeria will only succeed when the citizens support the President and ”that if Nigeria fails, everybody fails. The sub-nationals, like Rivers State, and any other state will also fail.”
This comes as he called for speedy investigation of suspects arrested for crime and taken through the unimpeded process of legal trials to ensure that they did not eventually get dumped in the correctional centres unduly on the awaiting trial list.
This, he said, will place more demand on the Nigeria Police Force and the Judiciary to rise to the challenge of ensuring that their institutions truly function effectively towards achieving the desired successes of decongesting correctional centres and dispensing justice.
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Fubara insisted that such an approach will contribute largely to solving the incidences of overcrowded correctional centres with awaiting trial inmates across the country, including the attendant financial burden required for their upkeep.
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The governor gave the charge when he received the House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions, led by its Chairman, Chinedu Ogah, on a courtesy visit to the Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, and sent to newsmen.
The Governor said: “I know that the State Government, from time to time, I mean, through the Chief Judge, had visited the Correctional Centres, and after evaluation, and I have seen a few letters he has written about what he saw on his visit, and having confirmed, and accessed a few of the inmates, he had granted them either bail or pardon.
“But this issue goes back to one major thing: institutions that we call the Police Force and the Judiciary. Most of these issues that we are talking about; overcrowding of the Correctional Centres, might be due to delay in the trial of their cases. That is the truth.
“The other aspect is that you arrest somebody wrongfully or whatever, and the process of investigation takes two, three, four years. So, we need to make sure that our institutions are functioning effectively. If they are functioning effectively, I strongly believe that most of these issues of over-crowding of the Correctional Centres won’t be there.”
Fubara added, “But, this is where we are, and we will continue to encourage our system to do it better. Maybe, if we had made these complaints earlier, some of the corrections would have been done.
“So, now that we are saying it, I believe they are hearing, and they will expedite action to make sure that some of these things are put to check.”
The governor said his administration is focused on the needs of Rivers people, adding that while addressing those needs, it is also mindful of the importance of properly integrating ex-convicts into the society.
Fubara, however, advised, “We also need to ensure that proper evaluations are done to ensure that we are not endangering our people.
“It is not just to say we need to reintegrate them. We also need to do the proper thing to make sure that when they leave the centres, they can fit into society.
“I think even in the Correctional Centres, they have vocational activities there. Some of them have the opportunity of running academic programmes online.
“So, first of all, they should also show this commitment that they want to change, that they want to be part of the system, coming back to the society, and we as a government, will do all we can make it possible.”
The Governor expressed delight that issues of the correctional centres attracted the attention of the National Assembly, which means that the government is alive and up to its responsibility.
Fubara also thanked members of the committee for the visit, and acknowledged the modest achievements of his administration so far, particularly in ensuring a reduction of crime in the State compared to what was inherited.
He said, “It goes to say just one thing: we know what the problem is, and we are tackling the problem from the root cause.
“What is the problem associated with crime: unemployment, insecurity. This insecurity is economic insecurity and that is what causes crime.
“It is a global issue, though but as a State, we will continue to do our best to see to it that our youths are engaged meaningfully, and are discouraged from associating with anything that will bring a bad image to our State.”
Fubara explained that his administration has continued to support the Controller of the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre with monthly subvention to assist in the day-to-day running of his office as well as other levels of assistance.
The Governor noted that most of the correctional centres were built over 80 years ago when nobody envisaged that the number of inmates would increase astronomically as witnessed now.
But he said that what the Federal Government is doing in the state by building new facilities to house inmates and the plan to relocate correctional centres in the city centre will be something to support.
“I will mandate the Secretary to the State Government to go and access what is going on there, and liaise with the appropriate authorities and see where we can come in to complete it so that this issue of having these Correctional Centres in the centre of the city which is not a good idea, at least, we can solve that problem once and for all.”
Fubara charged the committee to play its part effectively by making the requisite laws and securing the legislative backing that can eventually correct the mistakes that have been noticed.
He explained, “It shouldn’t be something we just put in our Constitution. It should be given all the strength of implementation or execution of those laws. So, you should help us do it right, and we will take it from there on the part of execution which is the duty of the Executive.”
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