The Executive Directors of CAPIO, Rev. Fr Ambrose Ekereoku and Mrs Blessing Ogbonna of IBF made the appeal in separate interviews with the Newsmen in Enugu on Monday. Ekereoku expressed dismay at the deplorable condition of lecture halls for undergraduate inmates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and students of the National Examination Council (NECO).
The director noted that students stayed in a dilapidated cell to study adding that it was not conducive for learning. Also Speaking, Ogbonna, the IBF Executive Director, an organisation that seeks education of prison inmates, said education is key in achieving reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners.
The aims of the Nigeria Prison Service which is Reformation and Rehabilitation cannot be complete without proper education,” she said. Ogbonna explained that incarceration alone did not solve any problem; rather, it made prisoners worse than they were before imprisonment. She said with proper education, prisoners would be properly reformed and rehabilitated to enable them integrate well into the society whenever they left the prison.
The director said that due to the development, the foundation had to partner with NECO and NOUN to better the lives of prisoners. She advised prisoners to take advantage of prison education by enrolling for NECO and NOUN programmes so they could adapt easily into the society after serving their prison sentences. They listed lack of funds, poor and inadequate lecture materials and halls were some of the major challenges they were faced in effectively discharging their services.
The groups also commended NOUN and NECO for providing services for prison inmates as part of reformation and rehabilitation. Both NGOs also called for implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law signed into law in May 2017 to facilitate court cases in the state.
They urged governments, relevant persons and bodies to key into the law for effective implementation. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NOUN matriculated 37 inmates of Enugu Maximum Prisons recently in various courses while a discharged inmate made the best result in Masters’ programme of the university nationwide.
