The Nigeria Prisons Service has won the 2018 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization Confucius Award for Literacy and Skills Acquisition for inmates in Paris, France.
The Minister of Interior, Retired Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau, while receiving the Award from the Controller-General of Prisons, Ahmed Ja’afaru, in Abuja, stated that the award was part of the positive results of the Prisons Reforms embarked upon by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration.
Dambazau reiterated government’s commitment in entrenching the Prisons Reform Policy in the areas of Welfare, Rehabilitation, Reformation and Protection of Rights and Privileges of inmates, adding that the Federal Government has already approved funds to improve environmental condition of inmates according to United Nations Minimum standard through the construction of new prisons and renovation of old ones, while collaboration with some State Governments is on-going for the need to relocate some prisons.
Stressing further that the Ministry through the Nigeria Prisons Service has in addition, provided drugs and clinics, ambulances as well as operational vehicles to facilitate easy movement of inmates to and fro court for quick dispensation of justice.
Dambazau noted that the Federal Government had advertised for recruitment into the Nigerian Prisons Service in order to build capacity of the Service for effective service delivery.
Disclosing further that the Nigeria Prisons Service is collaborating with the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary to ensure the release of minor offenders to assist in the decongestion of prisons.
The Minister expressed confidence in the leadership of the Controller-General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, and congratulated him for enhancing the capacity of inmates by encouraging them to access knowledge for self-development, emphasizing that the end goal of incarceration was to transform the inmates into better citizens before being reintegrated into the society.
While attributing the academic achievements of the inmates to proper motivation by the authorities, he volunteered to serve as an external Supervisor for the two PhD students in prison custody.
Earlier, Ja’afaru said the Service offered opportunities in literacy and skills acquisition to reduce the rate of inmates reoffending when reintegrated into the society and influence their end-of-prison-term lives positively.
He disclosed that the inmates benefited from close to 100 undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as having two PhD students, adding that the Nigeria Prisons Service has been in collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria, all geared towards improving the literacy level of inmates.
Ja’afaru, who expressed appreciation to President Buhari for transforming the Prisons Service through positive reforms, also thanked Dambazau for his strategic leadership in ensuring that the Service meets the United Nations minimum standard rules for the treatment of prisoners.