Inability To Pay Fines: 4,000 Nigerians In Detention – Minister Of Interior

By Ayodele Oni

The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has disclosed that Nigeria houses and feeds about 4,000 inmates who are in detention due to their inability to pay fines imposed on them by Courts.

The Minister disclosed this on Thursday, while featuring on a programme on Arise Television.

He said: “Immediately I assumed office, I set up a committee to review the situation and it was discovered that over 4,000 are in custody over inability to pay fines.

“We are working to mop up the fines and also working to prevent jail break at the correctional centres.”

He assured that efforts are on to make the Centres compete with those of advanced nations.

Tunji-Ojo also revealed that he halted the strenuous conventional process of obtaining International Passport in the Country without spending a dime.

According to him,  the excruciating pains witnessed by Nigerians at Immigration Offices coupled with the delay involved in obtaining passports spurred him to take the bull by the horn.

The Minister noted that Passport is a right and not a privilege, hence Nigerians must enjoy their right to the fullest without any encumbrance.

“Passport is a right and not a privilege, Nigerians are entitled to it. When I assumed duty, the President charged all appointees on dedication to duty, stressing that no excuse for failure.

“Immediately, I set up a committee and I also held meetings with the service providers where they disclosed their challenges and I swung into action momentarily.

“It was revealed that Alausa alone had over 32,000 passports with only two machines. We didn’t spend any money, we only approached the service provider to be of help with more machines.

“We also increased our machines in Ibadan to four. We have really covered the ground and the reward for good work is more work.”

The Minister lamented that the delay in passport collection had forced many public servants to stay away from work to pursue their passports.

He added that the era was over and Nigerians would now only visit Immigration office for biometrics spanning just five minutes.

“Do not pay anybody to help you facilitate Passport, it is N35,000 and N70, 000. By February, everybody will get their passports at their door steps.”

Tunji-Ojo also assured Nigerians in Diaspora that they would soon get the leeway in the next three weeks to get passports and resolve other issues within a very short period of time.