The federal government has approved the establishment of a national paramilitary academy, according to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Tunji-Ojo remarked in Abuja on Wednesday, when Ali Ali, managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), led a courtesy delegation to his office.
He stated that at Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, President Bola Tinubu authorised the institution’s formation.
Tunji-ojo stated that a degree-granting institution should be established to teach young citizens in paramilitary participation.
He stated that such an institution, like the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), would train young Nigerians who had been admitted through the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
“When they come out, they come out as officers, properly trained to contribute their quota to national security,” he said.
The minister also stated that the president approved the hiring of 50 doctors and 100 nurses to meet the medical needs of convicts in correctional facilities across the country.
He also stated that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has received presidential authority to assign medical doctors to penitentiary facilities for the service year.