From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has said that it does not extort money before admitting remanded suspects in custody.

This denial came on the heels of accusations of extortion levelled against the service by a police officer.

In a statement, the Chief Superintendent of Corrections and Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, explained that the process of admission into a custodial facility starts immediately after the suspect is presented by the official with an accompanying detention warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction.

So, it is not possible to extort money from a convict or a suspect at that level.
“Obviously, it is not practicable to extort money from suspects before admitting them as the report claims.

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“To set the record straight, no reporter of any news platform contacted the service on the issue. It is unfortunate that a reporter claimed to have called for clarification on the subject matter. The service wishes to call on journalists to seek clarification from the service on contentious matters before publication to avoid misleading the public for the betterment of the nation.

“The service will not tolerate falsehood and concoction of news to spread lies and unfounded information, just to mislead the general public.

“The service wishes to categorically state that all offenders, either remanded or convicted by courts of competent jurisdiction, are admitted without any inducement. The power to remand a suspect in custody lies in the courts, and the service would not renege to play its part in the administration of criminal justice.

“The Controller General of Corrections, therefore, enjoins the public to continue to support the service in her quest towards the safe and humane custody of the legally interned, and also ensuring their reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration back to the society,” he said.

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