A prison in Nigeria
The Controller of Prisons, Lagos State Command, Tunde Ladipo, says
education in prison facilities is getting better by the day, with an
inmate in the Maximum Prison undergoing a PhD programme.
Ladipo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that things
were looking up, especially with the commitment of officials and
performance of inmates.
The controller spoke to NAN on the sideline of the 2017 Ikoyi Prisons Education Award held in Lagos on Thursday.
He said that aside the inmate taking a PhD programme at the maximum
prison, which is in Kirikiri, several others, both at the facility and
the Ikoyi Prisons, were also undergoing Master’s degree programmes in
various fields.
The controller said that despite being in incarceration, many
prisoners had shown zeal to acquire education, even at the highest
level.
Ladipo said the state of education facilities in prisons across the
country was receiving a boost following the directive of the
Controller-General of the Nigerian Prisons, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed, that
all their schools must be functional.
“He is very much interested in the reformation of the inmates,
especially as it concerns their welfare and has instructed that the
education of inmates must be taken seriously.
“ He has directed that all the schools within the walls of the prisons must be equipped and functional.
“The controller-general also directed that we ensure too that
our inmates are reformed spiritually and ensure that their welfare is
always on the front burner.
“He has gone a step ahead by providing drugs that will serve for not less than two years for inmates in prisons nationwide.
“This is coupled with the acquisition and distribution of
operational vehicles, such as the Green Maria, ambulances, escort and
sewage vehicles as all as official cars,’’ Ladipo said.
He said that in a bid to achieve accelerated growth and national
transformation, every Nigerian must be given equal education
opportunity, irrespective of where they may find themselves.
Ladipo said that the prison, as a reformation centre, must not be
an exclusion, as those in there, are equally entitled to their rights to
be educated.
“That is why we are putting every resource available at our
disposal in ensuring that we make life conducive for the inmates by also
bringing all levels of education to them within the facility.
“The essence of bringing these persons to the prisons is to change their lives and empower them for the better in the future,’’ he said.
Ladipo recalled that in 2015, the Maximum Security Prison School
had produced a Master’s degree holder while still serving a jail term.
He, however, said the feat was not single-handedly achieved, but
with the collaboration of some religious and non-governmental
organisations.
“We appreciate their contributions, and like Oliver Twist, we are asking for more interventions from members of the public,’’ Ladipo said.
The prison boss assured that management would speak with the
authorities on the need to provide a standard CBT centre for the conduct
of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination by JAMB for the
inmates.
He also appealed for more volunteer teachers to assist in the
teaching of various subjects in the schools, especially as more inmates
were yearning for education by the day.
-NAN
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