Nigeria Correctional Service, formerly the Nigerian Prisons, has sent a Save our Soul (SOS) message to the judiciary, pointing to the menace of increasing number of awaiting-trial inmates being held.
The Controller of the Service in Imo State, Chris Okoye, raised issue when the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Imo State council, visited him in Owerri.
According to him, there are many awaiting-trial inmates in the Owerri command whose cases were minor and needed to be cleared in the law courts.
He urged the judiciary and well-meaning Nigerians to help out in decongesting the centre.
Okoye, who appreciate NUJ for the visit, said that synergy between the media and the service could go a long way in finding a solution to the various challenges confronting the correctional service in Nigeria.
He pointed out that the society has a wrong impression about prisons that needed to be corrected by the media.
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“The general perception about the prison is negative and in bad faith, it is nothing to write home about, but the service knows what it is doing. Through the media, the society will have a better understanding of what the new name stands for and the impact it has brought to the inmates.
“There is a great difference between the Nigerian Prisons Service and the Nigeria Correctional Service which involves custodian and non-custodian activities,” he said.
The controller said many positive developments had evolved in the service with the new name.
“We have improved the educational services where the inmates now obtain certificates to the level of doctorate degrees. The counselling services are now well established with a team of psychologists and counsellors to better improve the psyche of the inmates and properly place them where they belonged.
“We have also improved the medical and welfare services as well as sporting activities to engage the inmates, while staff trianing and retraining through attendance of various courses are ongoing.
“There are also vocational centres for skills acquisition for the inmates, while these innovations from the new name have helped to check jail brakes and protests,” he said.
The state social welfare officer of NCS, Chinyere Ogujiofor, requested that amnesty and jail delivery services be extended to Imo inmates whenever necessary as done in other states.
She said that it was long the Imo inmates enjoyed amnesty from the government, adding that such acts also helped to decongest the prisons.
Chris Akaraonye, chairman, NUJ, Imo council, who led members to the centre commended the controller for the achievements recorded since he assumed office.
He said the NUJ was at the centre to renew partnership with the service as well as know how the new name had positively affected the centre.
