The finals of the Oko Prison Football Tournament, tagged: “DCP CUP 2017,” which commenced on October 20, 2017 has come to a befitting end at the Prison Yard .
Fourteen football teams of prison inmates divided into three groups participated in the tournament.
Team A3, which is the defending champions, emerged the winner to retain the first prize and the DCP Golden Trophy by defeating Team D3 by four quality goals to two.
Teams D3 and C1 won the second and third places respectively.
Football talents were discovered among the inmates as an inmate, simply identified as Rasaki, was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Mba Frank, with 20 goals, won the Highest Goal Scorer and Ovbakhan Obarisiagbon got the award of the Best Goalkeeper among others.
Addressing the gathering of inmates, staff and guests, the Controller of Prisons, Osayande O. Amadin, who was represented by ACP Bridget Iyamu, encouraged the inmates to maximize their time in the prison by fully participating in the reform and rehabilitation programmes such as the football tournament in order to be empowered and successfully reintegrated back to the society on their eventual release.
The guests and the general public, which is the overall beneficiary of the inmates’ reformation, were called upon to give full support to the prison administration and inmates for a crime free society.
The Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, was represented by Ade Irehovbode, while the Director of Sport, Edo State Sport Council, Sunny Airende, was represented by Edith Obamwunyi among other invited guests present, who all expressed surprise at the possibility of such event within the prisons and promised their support future events.