The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on Tuesday revealed that women constituted over 35 percent of persons recruited into agencies under the Ministry in 2024.

Agencies under the Ministry of Interior include the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, the Nigeria Correctional Service, NCoS, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and the Federal Fire Service, FFS, among others.

The minister made the revelation during the first-quarter engagement with heads of agencies for 2025, in Abuja.

According to him, the Ministry’s commitment to gender inclusivity is in line with the gender policy of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“In 2024, we ensured that a minimum of 35 percent of new recruits across all services under our watch were women, reinforcing our dedication to gender balance and equality,” Tunji-Ojo said.

Speaking on prison reforms, he stated that there were no attacks on correctional facilities in the past year.

He noted that the development is due to improved security measures.

The minister further disclosed that the Nigerian Correctional Service and the National Identity Management Commission, NIM, are collaborating to link inmates’ data with the National Identification Number, NIN.

The move, according to him, will enhance data integration and monitoring.

Tunji-Ojo in the same vein disclosed that no fewer than 330 inmates were trained in vocational and artisanal skills between July and December 2024.

Also, over 50 inmates are currently pursuing higher education at National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, study centers nationwide.

He emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to periodic training and retraining of officers, to ensure that they are equipped with the skills necessary to address emerging challenges.

Speaking on staff welfare, Tunji-Ojo said 36,642 officers were promoted in 2023, while 20,851officers benefited from promotions in 2024.

According to him, the Ministry of Interior had cleared all promotion backlogs, a development which he said helped in boosting morale.

“We owe this progress to the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has made the welfare of staff a core priority of this administration,” Tunji-Ojo stressed.