Governor Alex Otti Pushes Major Reforms to Decongest Abia Correctional Centres, Boost Rehabilitation

…says Reform, Not Hardening Criminals. Also Health and Welfare a Top Priority

The Executive Governor of Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, has revealed a bold plan to reduce overcrowding in the state’s correctional facilities while ensuring inmates are rehabilitated, not hardened by prison life.

Speaking during a familiarisation visit by the new Zonal Coordinator of the Nigerian Correctional Services, Owerri Zone E, and Assistant Controller General of Corrections, Dr. Ngozi Amanze, Governor Otti stressed that his administration’s focus goes beyond building facilities—it aims to reshape the correctional experience for inmates.

In his words, “Our intention when we decided to build new facilities (for the Correctional Centres) is to reduce congestion and reduce the temptation to more crime in there. Even when people go there, we also want them to be corrected and reformed, rather than becoming hardened criminals.”

Governor Otti recalled a visit from former Kaduna lawmaker Sen. Shehu Sani, who vowed to return to Abia only after the Aba Correctional Centre was renovated, a facility where he was once detained during the Abacha regime. The encounter spurred an immediate assessment of the correctional facilities and highlighted ongoing challenges, including encroachment by host communities.

Over the past two years, the Governor has sought to grant pardons to inmates with minor offenses to ease overcrowding, but few qualified.

“A lot of people were there for murder, for serious offences. We repeated the same thing in December 2024. We still couldn’t find anything. We hope that you will help us look again. We don’t want the number to increase, because when you have a large number of your population in those facilities, it means that crime is increasing,” he said.

Governor Otti also assured that medical services in correctional centres will be strengthened. He directed the Honourable Commissioner for Health to explore establishing functional primary healthcare centres in all facilities.

“Where you have such a large number of people, you should have working medical facilities. Even if it’s not a hospital, it could be a primary health care centre to attend to the inmates. We will try and support you with that,” he said.

Dr. Ngozi Amanze commended Governor Otti’s transformative efforts, highlighting: Fortified perimeter wall at Aba Correctional Centre, Installation of solar lighting to enhance security, Construction of a new storey building with six cells to expand capacity

She noted that while congestion remains a nationwide challenge, the new cell blocks under construction would significantly reduce overcrowding and improve inmate welfare.

The visit was attended by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Navy Commander MacDonald Uba (Rtd), and other heads of the Governor’s security aides, further underscoring the administration’s commitment to strengthening Abia’s correctional institutions.

Governor Otti’s approach signals a new era for Abia’s correctional centres: combining infrastructure upgrades, medical support, and rehabilitation programs to create safer communities an d more reformed inmates.