The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has dismissed reports that minors detained during the recent #EndBadGovernance protests were held in adult custodial facilities.
The protests, held nationwide between August 1 and 10, were sparked by high living costs and included calls for international intervention, with some protesters raising the Russian flag.
In a statement on Saturday, Abubakar Umar, the NCoS public relations officer, clarified that the minors were not remanded in adult facilities, following the NCoS Act of 2019.
He labeled the claims as “misleading” and urged the public to disregard them, emphasizing the agency’s commitment to professionalism and respect for human rights.
The statement reads: “To set records straight, the NCoS Act 2019 has empowered the Controllers of Corrections as well as Superintendents-in-charge of Custodial Centres not to admit juveniles in facilities meant for adults.
“The Act also mandates the service to reject more intake of inmates where it is apparent that the custodial facility in question is filled to capacity.
“The service wishes to inform the public that the said suspects were rejected and none of them were remanded in adult custodial facilities as insinuated by the said report.
“The service assures the public that NCoS will continue to emphasise professionalism as well as respect for human rights in line with the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Juvenile offenders.
“Furthermore, the general public is enjoined to disregard the said report because it is not the true position of things.”
