All hope is not lost for prison inmates as the federal government moved to empower them with skills needed for the outside world.
The Federal Government has commenced vocational training to empower inmates in Nigeria’s 241 correctional facilities and prepare them for life after incarceration.
This was disclosed at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday by the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Abiola Arogundade.
Re-integration Of Prison Inmates
Arogundade, who said President Bola Tinubu is concerned about the reintegration of the inmates into the society.
Also, she added that each beneficiary will get a grant of ₦500,000 once they complete the skills acquisition programme.
The Nigerian Correctional Service has a total of 241 custodial facilities, 85 satellite custodial centres.
Also, 15 farm centres, two custodial open camps, four institutions, seven training schools and non-custodial services across the country.
However, the presidential aide insisted that only 500 inmates from each facility will be considered after the official take-off of the pilot scheme in Kuje Centre, which currently has a capacity of 723 inmates.
She said, “We launched the scheme in Kuje after we took a few members to do an audit on the needs of the inmates.
Every single person we train there is also going to be certified.
We are partnering with global bodies to ensure any skill you acquire in Nigeria will be recognised worldwide.
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“At the end of their prison term and our training, we give them ₦500,000 to set up their business.
This is so that, they don’t become second-time offenders after leaving the correctional centred. This scheme is ongoing.”
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