Wife of Bauchi State Governor, Barrister Aisha M.A. Abubakar has today freed 52 inmates after paying for their fines and compensation.
This is coming barely two weeks after she promised to pay for inmates with lesser fines and compensation to enable them celebrate the yuletide with their families.
In a well-attended occasion which had in attendance, the wife of Kogi State Governor, Hajiya Hafiza Yahya Bello and Hajiya Hannatu Sadique Abubakar, wife of the Chief of Air Staff, Barr. Aisha Abubakar said the gesture was borne out of her concern for the prison inmates and vulnerable groups of the society.
She charged the beneficiaries to be good citizens of the society after leaving the prison.
She disclosed that she intends to equip the released inmates with vocational skills just as she had done for some of them last year.
The Governor’s wife presented each of the inmates with the sum of N5, 000 as transport money to their various destinations and also donated 50 pieces of blankets, dozens of mats, cartons of soaps, bathroom slippers, amongst other things for the well-being of the remaining inmates of the prison.
In their seperate remarks, the wife of the Kogi State Governor and wife of the Chief of Air Staff, both commended the wife of Bauchi State Governor for her show of concern to the prison inmates and admonished the released inmates to reciprocate the kind gesture by transforming their lives for the better and be of good behavior.
The wife of Kogi State Governor, Hajiya Hafiza Yahya Bello also assisted the only female inmate released with cash donation to enable her start up a business and become self-reliant.
A statement by ASP Adam Abubakar Jibrin, Command Prisons Public Relations Officer, quoted the Controller of Prisons Bauchi State Command, CP Suleiman T. Suleiman, applauded the Governor’s wife for her humane disposition towards the inmates in his welcome address.
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He said he is particularly excited for including one Adamu Kolo among the released inmates. He noted that Adamu Kolo’s health condition has been deplorable and when intimated, the Governor’s wife paid the sum of 120,000 as fine and compensation to secure his release on compassionate ground.
The Controller of Prisons called on other wealthy individuals in the state and NGOs to emulate the kind gesture of the Governor’s wife by supporting the prison inmates to attain effective reformation and rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, the Lakushi Farm Centre of the Nigerian Prisons Service in Plateau State has harvested over 400 bags of rice in 2017.
The farm is one of the 17 Prisons farms in Nigeria and major’s in rice production because of it comparative advantage.
The farm was repositioned at the wake of President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to diversify the Nigerian Economy with emphasis on the Agricultural and Mining sectors.
The Nigerian Prisons Service received good funding, which launched the transformation face of these farms in 2016, leading to the procurement and distribution of modern farm tools, aimed at mechanizing the farms for self-sufficiency, training of inmates and enhance revenue base of the Service.
The Lakushi Farm Centre in 2017 received two tractors, one operational vehicle, two boom sprayer, three seed-drill planter, two multi-crop threshers, herbicides, pesticides etc.
The Controller General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed also approved the sum of N33,440,291.58 for the renovation of the farm building and inmate cells; which is ongoing.
The farms is already living up to it expectation of supporting prisoners’ rehabilitation and reintegration through enhanced modern skills/training in farming techniques; and have kick-started the Nigerian Prisons’ drive towards self-sufficiency.
The Service is however opened to any form of support, cooperation, and partnership that will enhance the execution of her mandate and further assure the public of her resolve to work for public safety.
Luka Ayedoo (ASP)
Command Prisons Public Relations Officer, Plateau State.
