Prisoners can apply for self-feeding — Prisons Spokesman

DCP Francis Enobore, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Prisons Service, on Friday said there was a provision in the law which allowed prisoners to apply for self-feeding.
Enobore made the statement while fielding questions from newsmen at the NPS Headquarters, Abuja.
He explained that an un-convicted prisoner on admission was usually told that he may be supplied with food at his own expense or at the expense of his friends (self-feeding).
He added: “Therefore, an un-convicted prisoner has the discretion of choosing whether he wishes to or does not want to eat the food provided by the prisons authority.
“He, however, has to apply to the superintendent in-charge of the prison for approval.
“For any meal for which he is supplied at his own expense, he shall not be supplied with the ordinary prison ration.
“Also, he shall not receive any ration in lieu of failure on the part of his people to supply his meal and such prisoner shall be restricted to his own food, not a mixture.
“Other conditions surrounding the arrangement are usually also made known to the inmate.
“This power is derived from the NPS Standing Order 237.”
The NPS spokesman said the clarification was relevant in order to correct the impression that prisoners in the country were made to provide their own food.
“For the avoidance of doubt, prisoners are fed by the Federal Government and only those that can afford self-feeding apply for such service,” Enobore said.
NAN.