I Will Deal With All Unprofessional Personnels In Ikoyi Prison – Rauf Aregbesola

The Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola has promised to deal with any unprofessional personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Ikoyi custodial centre, Lagos.

He said this at the launch of a book on deradicalisation of violent extremists, a fresh training curriculum and teaching template for personnel of the NCoS at the Service headquarters on Thursday in Abuja.

Reports had it that an online media had alleged drug abuse, sodomy, bribery, pimping and cash and carry operations in Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Lagos.

Mr Rauf has now disclosed that he had immense interest in the result the panel constituted to investigate the above allegations will come up with. He also said whoever is found wanting would be punished.

His words, “Let the minders of inmates understand the need to appreciate human dignity”

The Minister said that an inmate should come out of the custody refined and better and not the other way round.

“Rehabilitation, Readjustment, Reformation and Reintegration of those in our custody is our work as professional correctional officers and men.

“We are awaiting the outcome of the investigation into the allegations raised by the media. I must commend the media for exposing alleged wrongdoings in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre.”

“If all these are done, NCos will be one of the best in the world if not the best.”

Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola (born May 25th 1957) is the current Minister of the Federal Ministry of Interior (Nigeria) and the 4th civilian governor of the state of Osun. A native of Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as he is popularly called is married to Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola. Born into a family of both Muslims and Christians, Aregbesola, a Muslim of deep faith, was completely immersed in the art of religious tolerance, which he will later exhibit so publicly, in his tenure as governor of the State of Osun. Aregbesola had his primary and secondary education in Ondo State. He later attended The Polytechnic, Ibadan, where he studied Mechanical Engineering and graduated in 1980.

Aregbesola’s interest and involvement in politics dates back to his undergraduate days when he was Speaker of the Students’ Parliament (1977 – 1978), The Polytechnic, Ibadan, and the President of the Black Nationalist Movement (1978- 1980). He was also an active supporter of other progressive students’ movements nationwide, which earned him, for instance, the life membership of National Association of Technological Students. In June 1990, he became an elected delegate to the Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) Inaugural Local Government Area Congress. In July of the same year, he was also a delegate to its first National Convention in Abuja. Rauf Aregbesola, as a pro-democracy and human rights activist, was a major participant in the demilitarization and pro-democracy struggles of the 1990s in Nigeria.

In his first term as governor of the state, Argebesola outlined his bold vision for the state as captured in his six point integral action: Banish Poverty, Banish hunger, Banish unemployment, Restore healthy living, Promote functional education and Enhance communal peace and progress.Aregbesola actively pursued all action points of this plan in his first four years in office and by so doing, introduced many initiatives into governance ranging from the creation of 20,000 jobs for youths in his first 100 days which he achieved through the O-YES (Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme).

In 2014, the re-election of Aregbesola turned out to be a lot more challenging than expected. It turned out to be an election where the then PDP-led Federal Government was seeking to win for the party to secure a stronger base in the South-West for the general elections to be held in 2015 National forces were therefore deployed in a plot to intimidate voters and reduce votes, but against all odds, and despite several arrests of his key associates, Aregbesola emerged winner against PDP’s candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

The Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration also pioneered a conditional cash transfer scheme in the state of Osun local called ‘Agba Osun’ etc Through this scheme, Osun was able to lift many out of poverty, ranking as the state with the lowest poverty rate in Nigeria.