ABUJA – Off-Grid electricity: The Nigeria Correctional Service NCoS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding MoU with the Rural Electrification Agency REA.
This collaboration aims to bring off-grid electricity to correctional facilities across Nigeria and provide renewable energy training for inmates.
During the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Controller General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, praised the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for his innovative approach to the Service’s operations.
Nwakuche highlighted a shift from the past, where incarcerated individuals were often overlooked.
“We are here not just to sign an MoU, but to deliver a collaboration that works, to deliver it on a platform that will provide renewable energy to this particular institution that will also assist in their rehabilitation, in their integration, in their vocational skills and training,” Nwakuche stated.
He snorted that providing light brings life, and this initiative will empower inmates with skills that will benefit them upon release.
“Today, we are not just empowering infrastructure, we are empowering lives,” he added.
Earlier, the Managing Director of REA, Abba Aliyu, detailed the agency’s extensive reach.
He noted that REA currently implements projects in all 36 states and the FCT, with over 160MW of off-grid solar capacity deployed.
This has already electrified more than 1,650 communities, powered over 1,000 healthcare centres and connected over six million Nigerians.
Executive Director, Technical Services at the REA, Engr Umar Umar, explained that the MoU with NCoS is part of a broader strategy to accelerate impact.
He said; “with the Nigerian Correctional Service, we are introducing clean energy solutions to enhance security infrastructure, vocational rehabilitation, and operational efficiency in correctional facilities aligning with human rights and justice sector reforms.”
