Ifeanyi IbeFive inmates of the Kuje Custodial Centre have bagged university degrees in various disciplines at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) just as over 200 were said to have gained admission.
Speaking during the presentation of certificates to the graduands in Abuja on Monday, the Controller General, Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, said education is a potent means of rehabilitation.
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Represented by the Controller of Corrections, FCT Command, Ibrahim Idris, Nababa expressed confidence that the inmates will compete favourably with their counterparts without stigmatisation.
He noted that “Education is transformative and a powerful rehabilitative tool for development in every society. Therefore, with these certificates, they are fit to compete anywhere without being stigmatised.
“We appreciate the National Open University of Nigeria for their unwavering support to the Correctional Service all over the federation in ensuring that inmates are reformed through education. Over 200 inmates have enrolled in tertiary education in the Kuje centre alone.
“We encourage other inmates of the facility to take advantage of this free education and other vocational skills to equip themselves for success in larger society upon release.”
Nababa also pledged to continue the service’s partnership with the institution in curbing insecurity in the country.
The Vice Chancellor, the National Open University of Nigeria, Professor Olufemi Peters, who spoke through the National Coordinator, Special Study Centers, Mrs Modupe Adesina, urged all inmates to make the best of the opportunity that has been given to them through a partnership between the Nigerian Correctional Service and the National Open University of Nigeria, to improve and empower themselves, and not to waste it.
The Centre Director, Controller of Corrections, Francis Enobore (retd), called on the public to desist from stigmatising ex-offenders, as they have been corrected, and should be accepted back into society with all rights and privileges, to avoid going back to crimes.
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