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Children locked in rooms at youth prison up to 23 hours a day – report

Children being held in a privately run prison have been locked in their rooms for up to 23 hours a day in uncomfortably hot conditions, according to a damning report by three inspectorates.

Inspectors who arrived unannounced at Oakhill secure training centre (STC) for boys aged 12-17 identified “widespread failings” which they said were having “a significant impact on the care and wellbeing of the children held there”.

The centre’s records showed that from mid-July 2021 onwards, children being held at the institution in Milton Keynes spent approximately 19 hours a day on average locked in their rooms, increasing to 23 hours on some days, and the report noted that the true figure could have been even higher.

“The Youth Custody Service (YCS) reported to inspectors that it questions the accuracy of the centre’s data, indicating that the time children have spent locked into their rooms could be higher than that reported by the centre,” the report states.

It is not the first time concerns have been raised about children being held in near solitary confinement in STCs.

All children were removed from Rainsbrook, near Rugby in Warwickshire, after inspectors raised safety concerns when, at the start of pandemic, new arrivals as young as 15 were locked in their rooms for a fortnight and allowed out for just 30 minutes a day, because of concerns about coronavirus.

Some of those children were then transferred to Oakhill, which had 46 resident at the time of the monitoring visit in September. G4S, which runs Oakhill, blamed the highly restricted regime on a staffing crisis, with significant numbers forced to self-isolate because of Covid regulations.

The Oakhill report, by the schools watchdog Ofsted, the Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), also identified a “significant increase in violence”. It said children’s day-to-day experiences were “very poor”, organisation was “chaotic”, children did not know what was happening from one day to the next, and education was often delivered through a locked bedroom door.

The report went on: “The temperatures in children’s living units and in other parts of the centre are too high. This leads to an environment in summer months that is not conducive to the positive care of children.”

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the “distressing” realities in the report echoed the league’s own findings of “boys locked in their cells for hours on end without fresh air or face-to-face education”.

“The Howard League opposed the creation of secure training centres in the 1990s. In the decades since, hundreds of boys and girls have been harmed and abused while private companies have profited from their misery. This report on Oakhill should be the final straw. It is time to close the secure training centres and ensure that boys and girls in trouble are given the care and support they need.”

A spokesperson for Oakhill said: “The safety of children at Oakhill secure training centre is paramount. Earlier this year, staff numbers at Oakhill were severely depleted by the impact of Covid-19 as significant numbers of staff were required, under prevailing regulations, to self-isolate at home.

“Since the Ofsted visit Oakhill’s operating regime for children has improved and, over the past month, children have been able to spend on average 12 hours out of their rooms daily. Education in classrooms has been restored and children are now receiving a full educational programme.”

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Aviation Minister directs agencies to probe incident involving Air Peace, Oshiomhole

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered a thorough investigation into the recent altercation between Air Peace and Senator Adams Oshiomhole at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

The directive, announced on Friday, June 13, comes in response to a public dispute following an incident on Wednesday, June 11, in which Air Peace accused the senator, who represents Edo North, of disrupting operations after allegedly missing a scheduled flight.

Videos circulating on social media showed Oshiomhole addressing an airport official and later sitting in protest in front of a gate at Zulu Hall, located at the airport’s Terminal 1.

Oshiomhole, in his defence, denied causing any disruption and instead accused the airline of extortion, claiming passengers who had already checked in online were told to pay additional fees before boarding.

Air Peace, in a strongly worded rebuttal, dismissed the senator’s allegations as “deliberate falsehood” and insisted that no passenger was asked to pay extra after the check-in deadline had passed.

Keyamo confirmed that he had been in direct communication with both parties since the incident and appealed for restraint in their public exchanges.

“In the wake of the incident at the Lagos Airport last Wednesday involving AIRPEACE Airline and His Excellency, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, I have been in direct contact with both parties since that morning,” the minister said.

“Whilst appealing to both sides to halt the public accusations and counter-accusations, I am further directing the relevant aviation agencies to thoroughly look into the issue, collect all available evidence and revert to my office so we can deal with the issue in such a way as to guide future conduct in similar situations.”

Keyamo also cautioned aviation authorities against rushing to conclusions, urging them to observe due process and the principle of fair hearing before issuing any determinations.

News

Nigerian Correctional Service officer attempts suicide in Zamfara

A staff member of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Abdullahi Nura, who serves as a Chief Correctional Assistant at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Gusau, Zamfara State, attempted suicide early Wednesday, June 11, by jumping into Gusau Dam.

According to a statement from the Public Relations Officer of the Zamfara State Command, ASC I Mustapha Abubakar, “the officer had reported for duty before hiring a commercial motorcyclist who conveyed him to the Gusau Dam, the largest and deepest dam within the metropolis.”

“Upon arrival, he suddenly jumped into the water in an apparent suicide attempt, for reasons best known to him,” Abubakar said. “The motorcyclist quickly alerted staff and security personnel at the dam site, who responded swiftly and rescued the officer from drowning,” he added.

Nura was found wearing his service uniform and in possession of his official ID card.

“The Nigerian Correctional Service State Headquarters was immediately informed, prompting a rapid response,” the statement said.

“The State Controller of Corrections, CCS Musa Tanko, promptly deployed a team of officers who evacuated the victim to the MSCC Medical Clinic in Gusau, where he is currently receiving medical attention.”

The statement confirmed that the officer “has regained consciousness and is responding positively to treatment.”

News

Police Kill Suspected Kidnappers, Rescue Abductees In Delta, Katsina

Police authorities, in partnership with other security agencies, have recorded major successes in their sustained efforts to crack down on violent crimes in the country. The latest is the rescue of abducted persons, the killing of suspected kidnappers, and the recovery of large caches of illegal firearms and ammunition in Delta and Katsina states.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, says that in Katsina State, a major success was recorded on June 8, 2025, when a combined JTF comprising police operatives and other security agencies foiled a kidnap attempt along the Danmusa–Mara Dangeza village road in Danmusa Local Government Area (LGA).

Adejobi said this was possible by engaging a group of armed bandits attempting to flee with kidnapped victims in a gun battle that led to the rescue of eleven victims.

Meanwhile, in the South-South region, Delta State, to be specific, police authorities arrested one Abubakar Hassan, who is a key suspect in an interstate kidnapping syndicate operating within Delta, Rivers, Imo, and Enugu states.

The officers attached to the CP-Special Assignment Team did so while acting on credible intelligence.

During interrogation, Hassan confessed to leading operations along the Ughelli-Ozoro axis of the oil-rich state.

He also led police operatives to his hideout in a forest in Ozoro. There, officers recovered two AK-47 rifles, four magazines, and thirty-two rounds of live ammunition.

Last week, security agents killed four suspected kidnappers in a joint operation between the police and local hunters.

The raid also led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle and live ammunition. It was a coordinated offensive that began in the early hours of Tuesday, June 4th, around 3 a.m., as intelligence reports pointed to the presence of suspected kidnappers operating along the Abraka railway axis.