A prison stakeholder, Pastor Femi
Fafowora, has urged the federal government to ensure speedy reforms in the
Nigerian Prisons and Justice System.
Fafowora made this appeal at the 11th
Annual Praise Festival, organised by the Redeemed Christian Church of God
(RCCG) and others in Lagos.
Fafowora said: “Maximum, Medium and
other prisons were built for specific offenders, but regrettably, this is no
longer the case. All Inmates are now lumped together, no matter the weight of
the offence, owing to explosion in the number of inmates. We are begging the
necessary authorities to see to the speedy reform in the prisons as well as the
justice system. I know of an inmate, who has been on death row in a prison
for 23 years. I wondered the rationale behind such a situation.”
He noted that religious bodies and
nongovernmental organisations, had often collaborated with the prison
authorities to train inmates on various skills and vocations.
He said: “The prison is to correct
and not merely to condemn. Inmates should be treated well. The prison
authorities should ensure that justice is not only served, but served speedily
as Justice delayed is Justice denied.”
The Head of Kirikiri Medium
Security Prison, Deputy Comptroller of Prisons (DCP), Ben Rabbi Freedman
(Rev.), while speaking, commended churches and NGOs on their impact towards
correctional values brought into the prisons.
He commended the management, staff
of the Medium Security Prison and the inmates as well as all the clerics, partners
and other stakeholders, who have continuously ensured that the praise festival continued
to hold and has now held for 11 years.
He said that 99% of the
activities performed at the event were solely done by the inmates.
He further added: "Some of the inmates
have written the General Certificate of Education (GCE) O’ Level and those who
excelled had been granted admission into the National Open University of
Nigeria (NOUN) to pursue various academic disciplines. We can boast of a
paint manufacturing factory, a poultry farm, and shoe factory amongst others.
These are achieved because of our drive and push to leave a positive and
enduring legacy in the sands of time at the Medium Security Prison."
The guest minister, Emeka Eze, while
speaking on, “Enter His courts with praise,” said that the goal of the event
was to rebrand and refocus the attention of young men and women from evil
to total service and dependence on God, taking into cognizance the alarming rate
of crime among the youths as well as the high prison population.
He called on all well-meaning
Nigerians and churches to join hands by contributing bountifully towards this noble
project.
Another stakeholder, Pastor Audu
Daniel, speaking on ‘Life after Prison,’ worried about discriminations faced by
inmates after they were released from prison.
He said: “The whole essence of
incarceration, rehabilitation programmes, church visits and ministration, counselling
and mentoring in the prisons are aimed at reformation, remodeling and reintegration
into the society.”
He therefore called on the society
to welcome, accept and render assistance to ex-prisoners, who had been
transformed. Chaplain Darlington Ajitemisan, a stakeholder in the event, called
on the authorities to build functional libraries in prisons.
No comments:
Post a Comment