As part of ongoing effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the various correctional centres in Nigeria, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with UNAIDS and EU on Thursday, May 7, 2020 delivered basic protective and preventive equipment and supplies, including gloves, face masks, sanitisers, dispensers as well as infrared thermometres to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Since the lockdown, UNODC has partnered with the National Correctional Service first by supporting efforts to inform inmates and staff on how to stay safe, and subsequently through the provision of basic protective and preventive equipment and supplies.
The items were procured with the support of the European Union through the “Response to drugs and related organised crime in Nigeria” Project and in collaboration with other UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNAIDS.
Receiving the equipment on behalf of the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Comptroller General, Ja’afaru Ahmed, expressed “appreciation to the UNODC and the EU for the assistance they have been rendering to the Service”, pledging that the “items will be judicially used.”
As the pandemic evolves, UNODC said it would, in cooperation with the leadership of the Nigerian Correctional Service, continue to spare no effort to safeguard the health of the people living and working in custodial centres and other detention settings in the country.
