A’Ibom Govt Pledges Support Towards Reformation Of Correctional Service Centres
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, has assured the Federal Government of his administration’s preparedness to assist in the ongoing reformation and decongestion of Correctional Service Centres in the state.The gesture, according to Governor Emmanuel, will manifest through donation of land to facilitate relocation of the Uyo centre, providing facilities to boost skills acquisition programmes of the centres and payment of fines for inmates incarcerated on minor offences.
This was the hallmark of discussion when Governor Emmanuel granted audience, Monday, to the Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion in Akwa Ibom State led by the Chairman, Justice Ishaq Bello, at Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Uyo.
The Governor who commended the committee on the tour of correctional centres across the country, explained that the reforms and decongestion of the centres have become expedient, considering the sordid conditions of inmates occasioned by overcrowding, long years of neglect and deterioration of facilities at the centres and expressed optimism that the committee will work assiduously to change the narrative of the centres and save them from impending collapse.
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“There is problem in the Uyo Correctional Centre because of the ravine. I’ve told several CJ’s that have visited there that ecological fund needs be accessed to work on the huge ravine there. We need to consider addressing the ecological disaster or relocating the Uyo Prison and if we’re relocating the prison, all we can do is to provide land free for the project”, he explained.
Governor Emmanuel commended the vision of the Federal Government in rebranding prisons as Correctional Service Centres and setting up the reformation and decongestion committee to ensure that the service lives up to its new name, urging the committee to be thorough in its vested assignment to enable the Federal Government achieve its set goals for the centres.
Earlier, Justice Ishaq Bello had said that the committee was mandated to assess the problems hampering the smooth operations of the centers with a view to proffering solutions towards making the correctional service centres provide services in line with international best practices.
Justice Bello acknowledged that the awareness created during the tour towards decongesting the correctional service centres was a capacity building effort towards expediting the adjudication process in order to eliminate unnecessary incarceration in the centres.
The Chief Judge added that the committee has inculcated presentation of motivational books to the inmates, saying that the innovation would transform their intellect and psyche and cause them to refrain from vices.
“Here we have decisively and strategically decided to make an innovation which will be the presentation of books as part of the process of reforms so that the intellect, the psyche, and frame of mind of inmates could be transformed from vices to virtues”, he stated.
Justice Bello commended the Governor for mobilising the entire state apparatus of government to accord the delegation a good reception and solicited a good working relationship from the state government, assuring that the committee will deliver on its mandate.
