2025: What New Reforms Have Tunji-Ojo Brought to the Correctional Service?
Blessing Ele-ojo Julius Writes from Abuja
For over two years, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has shouldered the task of reshaping a sector once dismissed as a place of condemnation rather than correction. The system he inherited in 2023, marked by overcrowded cells, weary officers, and facilities that warehoused rather than rehabilitated, has steadily transformed into one where dignity is restored and hope renewed
From the outset in 2023, Tunji-Ojo mobilized government resources and private philanthropy through a Public Private Partnership of almost ₦600 million to secure the release of over four thousand petty offenders who had languished in custody simply because they could not afford minor fines. That singular intervention introduced compassion into the correctional system and laid the groundwork for the deeper reforms that would define 2025
When Tunji-Ojo speaks of security and dignity, he emphasizes it is for both the confined and those who guard them. He made it unmistakably clear that reform cannot privilege inmates alone but also strengthen the very backbone of those who keep the system running. In August, during the Ministry’s Ministerial Retreat, the Minister announced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of lifetime salary benefits for top management officers of the Correctional Service upon retirement, breaking with the old and reprehensible culture of neglecting officers who had given their prime years in meritorious service to the Nation.
No less important has been the restoration of the workforce. In the first half of this year alone, 4 Assistant Controllers General were elevated to Deputy Controller General, 31 Controllers rose to Assistant Controller General, and 30 senior officers earned long-overdue promotions in August, effectively clearing the backlog.
Alongside these elevations, the Federal Government implemented peculiar allowances, extended rent subsidies, and activated a comprehensive life assurance cover for officers. These measures have effectively restored dignity to the uniform, reassuring that the welfare of officers of the Nigeria Correctional Service is top priority to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In January, Inmates feeding allowances, left stagnant for years, were raised from ₦750 to ₦1,125 per inmate, giving each inmate a daily proof that their lives matter.
Skills acquisition and educational literacy has also taken a notable increase. On January 28, the Service reported that over 3,000 inmates had completed vocational training within six months, with many more pursuing studies through the National Open University.
By April, sixty-two inmates in Kano sat for O’Level exams; by August, a full NABTEB centre opened at Kuje with seventy enrolled; and in September, sixty‐eight inmates in Kano passed the 2025 NECO examinations. In Enugu, too, 124 inmates recently sat for NECO at the Special Study Centre in Enugu Custodial Centre.
Piece by piece, Olubunmi Tunji-ojo is crumbling the walls of despair, rebuilding them into corridors of learning for self development and smoother integration back into the society. Again, renewed hope.
In February, thirty-nine operational vehicles and bullet-proof guard booths were commissioned, equipping the Service with tools to secure movement and protect both inmates and officers.
Shortly after, President Tinubu approved the relocation of twenty-nine custodial centres from decrepit, overcrowded sites to new grounds that can sustain true rehabilitation.
Across facilities like Kuje and Suleja, repairs and upgrades are changing daily as broken spaces are being fixed, living areas made safer, and conditions gradually shaped to support genuine rehabilitation instead of mere survival.
These measures, layered one upon another, give credence to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope administration, demonstrating that reform is only but a flourish of words and passing headline unless transformed into tangible results that impact positively in human lives, in this case taking responsibility of those in custody through dignified feeding, skills that prepare inmates for the future, improved tools and morale for officers, and facilities remade into centres of real transformation.
For over two years, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has given the Renewed Hope Agenda a human face, and Nigerians are embracing the change with renewed confidence.
