The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) says it has trained 120 inmates in vocational skills in six custodial centres in Gombe State.
The Controller of Corrections, Felix Agada, said this during the graduation ceremony of the inmates on Wednesday at Tula community in Kaltungo Local Government Area of the state.
He said the initiative was part of the mandate of the service to reform and rehabilitate inmates into better citizens upon their release from the centres.
“The aim of this skill acquisition is to achieve the Reformation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration programme of the service.
“This is to ensure that inmates become useful to themselves and the society at large after discharge to reduce the rate of crime among the youths in our communities,” he said.
Mr Agada said the programme is being initiated and supported in collaboration between the state Chief Judge, Justice Halima Mohammed, and Smart Ideas Multi Consult Limited.
He commended the state government for empowering the inmates and ensuring that they return to their communities with dignity upon serving out their jail terms.
Also, Mrs Mohammed said her belief that everyone deserved the opportunity to become better citizens moved her to initiate the programme.
She said that studies had shown that where well-structured rehabilitation and skill acquisition exist for inmates, crime rates drop drastically by more than half because “opportunity is the antidote to crime.
“In Nigeria, correctional centres were not designed to be the permanent destination, they are meant to be a bridge back into society, not a warehouse for human potential.
“Without skills, inmates who have served out their terms, can not compete, without support, they cannot stand and without acceptance, they cannot start again,” she said.
Mrs Mohammed said the initiative was borne out of the need to ensure that every ex-inmate did not go back to crime but to become a “tax payer, business starter and an artisan.
“This is important because every ex inmate lost to the street is a child without a provider, a community without peace and a country without productivity.”
She lauded the government in reforming inmates, and stressed the need for societal support to effectively address the task of skilling every inmate while providing them with starter packs upon their release.
“Correctional reform is not a project, it’s a partnership, not a policy but a social contract; today’s fund raising is not charity but nation building, security management, economic investment and a moral duty.
The judge, therefore, advocated for collective support to empower inmates with the right skills and tools.
According to Mrs Mohammed, investment in that regard is an investment in safer streets, stronger families and a more hopeful country.
Musa Nelson, head of skills acquisition programmes, NCoS, said the inmates were exposed to carpentry, tailoring, fashion design, cosmetology, shoe and bags making, laundry barbing and make-up.
He said the inmates would be provided with starter packs after their six-month training exercise.
Some of the inmates commended the gesture and urged stakeholders to assist them with the required tools in line with their area of training to enable them to set up their businesses.
(NAN)