Five inmates of the Kuje Custodial Centre in the FCT have bagged university degree in various disciplines at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
During the presentation of certificates to the graduates on Monday, the Comptroller General (CG) of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, who was represented by the Controller of Corrections, FCT Command, Ibrahim N. Idris, who noted that education was transformative and a powerful rehabilitative tool, advised that with their certificates the inmates were fit to compete anywhere without being stigmatised.
The CG, while appreciating NOUN for its unwavering support to NCoS, noted that since the inception of the programme, over 200 inmates had enrolled for tertiary education in the Kuje centre alone.
He, therefore, pledged the service’ continuous partnership with the institution in curbing insecurity in the country, and enjoined other inmates of the facility to take advantage of the free education and other vocational skills to get themselves equipped for success in the larger society upon release.
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The Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Professor Olufemi Peters, who spoke through the National Coordinator of NOUN’s Special Study Centres, Mrs Modupe Adesina, felicitated with the graduates, stating that the achievement was a testimony of their commitment and determination despite the circumstances of their incarceration,
The Centre Director, Controller of Corrections Francis Enobore (Rtd), called on the public to desist from stigmatising ex-offenders, as they had been corrected, and that they should be accepted back into society with all rights and privileges to avoid reoffending.
