The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to supply off-grid electricity to prisons and provide inmates with vocational training in renewable energy technologies.
At the MoU signing held in Abuja, the Controller General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, expressed gratitude for the initiative, which he said goes beyond infrastructure to focus on human dignity. He praised the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for introducing innovative strategies into the correctional system, moving away from the outdated approach of isolating inmates from society.
Nwakuche emphasized that the partnership aims to empower over 81,000 inmates by bringing power to correctional centres while equipping them with useful skills to aid their rehabilitation and reintegration. He said the project represents a shift in thinking—bringing light, literally and figuratively, into the lives of incarcerated individuals. Some inmates, he noted, were already optimistic about the new opportunities this development could offer upon their release.
Managing Director of the REA, Abba Aliyu, stated that the agency has already deployed over 160 megawatts of off-grid solar power across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, positively impacting more than 1,650 communities, 1,000 healthcare centres, and over six million Nigerians.
Also speaking, the REA’s Executive Director of Technical Services, Engr. Umar Umar, noted that partnerships like this one are key to promoting justice reforms. He said introducing clean energy into correctional facilities not only improves their security and operational standards but also supports vocational and human rights goals.
The collaboration is expected to redefine the role of prisons in Nigeria—turning them into centres of transformation where inmates can gain skills that prepare them for meaningful contributions to society after release.
