KANO — No fewer than 52 inmates in custodial centres across Kano State have commenced the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examinations, SSCE, conducted by the National Examinations Council, NECO, and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, NBAIS.
The Kano State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, CSC Musbahu Kofar-Nassarawa. According to the statement, the candidates comprise “41 male and 11 female inmates drawn from various custodial centres across the state.”
The command said the examination exercise forms part of ongoing efforts to promote inmates’ rehabilitation, reformation and successful reintegration into society through education.
Mr Kofar-Nassarawa said the Controller of Corrections, Kano State Command, Yusuf Lakpene, monitored the commencement of the examinations at designated centres and described the exercise as “another milestone in the Service’s correctional and rehabilitative mandate.”
Addressing the candidates, Mr Lakpene urged them to conduct themselves with discipline and integrity throughout the examinations. “Education remains one of the most effective tools for transforming lives, reducing recidivism and preparing inmates for productive reintegration into society upon completion of their custodial terms,” he said.
The Controller commended the Kano State Government, under Governor Abba Yusuf, for sponsoring the registration fees of the inmate-candidates. According to him, the intervention demonstrates the government’s commitment to “inclusive education and human capital development by extending educational opportunities to persons in custodial facilities.”
Mr Lakpene also reaffirmed the Nigerian Correctional Service’s commitment to expanding educational programmes across custodial centres nationwide. “We remain committed to expanding educational programmes across custodial centres as part of our broader strategy to encourage learning, personal development and lasting behavioural change among inmates,” he said.
He was accompanied during the monitoring exercise by the Officer-in-Charge of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kurmawa, Ibrahim Isa Rambo; the Head of the Non-Custodial Unit, Musa Muhammad Kibiya; and the Principal of the Custodial School, Ahmad Muhammad Alkanawi.