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The Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria
Correctional Service (NCS), Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche mni, has
showered encomiums on the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede for his giant strides in the
anti-corruption fight.
Nwakuche gave the praises on Thursday, February 13,
2025 when he led a delegation of the top management team of the NCS on a
courtesy visit to the EFCC boss at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in
Jabi, Abuja.
“You have created a wonderful track record. I am not
here to blow your trumpet, but to add value to what you are doing by
speaking from an external point of view. I am here to pay respect to your
office and to your person. It is very important that I pay
respect to an office with which we have synergy; an office
that we hold in high esteem; an office of which we receive their products for
safe keeping, human custody and reformation. No other office stands more important
than the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“I am equally here to salute the courage of your men,
those who are both living and those who have paid the supreme price in fighting
the enemies of the state and to congratulate you on what you have done so far,”
he stated.
Speaking further on the area of collaboration, he
stated that the NCS desired collaboration and synergy with the EFCC in the
areas of officers’ training and intelligence sharing. “We are
here to seek your collaboration in the area of training and intelligence
sharing. Both the EFCC and the Correctional Service have a positive
partnership. I am here also to seek collaboration on the issue
of prison congestion. The issue of prison congestion is not something
that can be overemphasised. As at the 10th of
January, 2025 we had over 80,000 (eighty
thousand) inmates’ population throughout the country, and out of
this 80,000 it may interest you to know that
over 53,000 (fifty-three thousand) are on awaiting
trial list, representing over sixty three to almost over eighty percent of
the number,” he said.
Olukoyede who expressed delight at the visit and the
desire of NCS for collaboration and synergy with the EFCC, noted
that synergy and collaboration among stakeholders were key in the
successes of security and law enforcement agencies of government.
“What is important in the work we do in law
enforcement is to understand that collaboration and synergy are very
key. In environments where things work; where people follow due
diligence and due process, you will discover that they uphold the
spirit of unity and synergy. That is very key because where our work stops,
that is where your work begins. Having done our investigation, done
prosecution, we hand over to you. What happens thereafter is very important, so
that people that we hand over to you can be reformed. That is what
informed the change of your nomenclature from Nigerian Prisons
Service to Nigerian Correctional Service. The essence of
that is for people to be reformed,” he said.
While congratulating Nwakuche on his appointment
by President Tinubu, he reminded him to be on his toes for the challenges
ahead and assured him of the cooperation and collaboration of the
EFCC. “To whom much is given, much is expected. We hope to
celebrate many milestones together. On our part, we will be willing to
share intelligence and information with you. Through synergy, the two
institutions can work to actualize the Renewed Hope Agenda of the
President. We will work together to support our leader who has put us in
this position to actualize his renewed hope agenda,” he said.
