Outrage as photos of Nigeria Prison Service's extravagant hotel emerges amidst calls for prison reform

Recent photos of a luxurious hotel owned by the Nigeria Prison Service have sparked widespread outrage among Nigerians.

The controversial 104-room facility is operated by the Correctional Service Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society, which was launched in 2021 by the then Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

Amidst the uproar, citizens are drawing stark contrasts between the lavish hotel and the country's infamous correctional institutions.

Nigeria's prisons are well-known for their dilapidated infrastructure and severe overcrowding, with inmates enduring perilous living conditions.

The decision to build a grand establishment for the prison service while neglecting the dire need for prison reform has baffled many.

Discontent has spread on social media, with users voicing their disappointment in the government's priorities.

Sadeeq commented, “What is Nigerian Correctional service doing with hotel? This is a clear deviation from objectives. When there are so many challenges that require urgent attention in the prisons, this money should have been channeled to the appropriate areas,” he declared.

Sunday Peter Pepa questioned, “Nigeria Correctional Service is an agency of the Federal Government, financed, sponsored, and empowered by the FG. What’s the essence of building hotels instead of improving our prisons across the nation? I hope it’s not what I’m thinking,” he wrote.

The Nigerian Correctional Service, a federal agency, is funded and overseen by the government. The rationale behind investing in hospitality rather than improving prison conditions has left many citizens perplexed and concerned.

In response to the controversy, the current Minister of Interior, Dr. Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo, has pledged to overhaul the correctional system. He has committed to reducing overcrowding and enhancing rehabilitation programs for inmates.

Dr. Olubunmi-Ojo assured, “I also would like to give assurance that under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, we would do everything humanly possible to reform our custodial centres, such as the decongestion of those centres of course, with beaming life, and hope we’d groom inmates and help inmates to ensure proper re-integration into the society,” he said.

See more images of the hotel.