Twenty-five inmates in custodial facilities across various commands in the country have been set free by the Nigerian Correctional service after the completion of their time in incarceration.
Controller General of Corrections, Haliru Nababa, said that those released consist of inmates that have fully served their term and are ready to be reintegrated into society to contribute their quota haven been trained and couched in various vocational skills so they could earn a living.
Speaking at the annual release and presentation of aftercare starter kits, yesterday in Abuja, Nababa noted that the act of setting free ex-offenders is in fulfilment of one of the core mandates of reforming offenders and reintegrating them back into society not only as responsible citizens but also as productive citizens adequately empowered.
The CG explained that the release and presentation of aftercare trade tools to the ex-convict will be replicated across the federation.
“The essence of this scheme is to retool ex-offenders thereby encouraging them to be productive and self-sustaining. This remains the best way to keep them away from crime and criminality, making our community and the country at large safe as well as a better place for us.
Like the Nigerian Correctional service has always done, the trade tools will cover sundry vocations ranging from barbing, carpentry, welding and fabrication, hairdressing, fashion design and masonry,” he said.
While speaking on the need for society to accept ex-offenders without stigmatizing them, Nababa urges the public to desist from stigmatization and support their progress by patronizing them in their various trades.
“May I remind you all the ex-offenders if not treated with special care and support, are likely to return to their old ways hence, rekindling their criminal world and endangering society, therefore the onus lies on us to break the cycle of criminality by helping ex-offenders to fully embrace life” he warns.
He also appealed to public-spirited individuals to support the service’s inmate’s training programmes. The inmates released are from Kebbi, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT).
Trade tools that were given to them include sewing machines, washing machines and laundry equipment, masonry tools, welding and fabrication tools, hair dryer and hairdressing equipment and carpentry tools.
Meanwhile, one of the recipients of the trade tools, Friday Inyang, who served his term at the Kuje custodial facility in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), recounted how he spent five years behind bars for a crime he said he did not commit.
“I was arrested on February 13, 2018, for an offence I didn’t commit and on April 7 2022, I was discharged. I spent over 4 years in Kuje prison.
“My parents and friends rejected me all this while but I am very happy that this service has recognized me. My hope has been restored today,” he said
Inyang who spoke on behalf of his colleagues expressed gratitude for the service and commended the professionalism of prison wardens who he said were humane in the treatment of the inmates. He recounted how he learned carpentry while in custody, a trade he is now being empowered to go and earn a living with outside detention.
According to him, the prison wardens treated them fairly while in prison. “They showed us, love. It is only a fool who does not know the benefits of warders to inmates. Your men gave me hope and trained me well in carpentry, even when I thought I couldn’t do it.”
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