38 Inmates Undergoing Postgraduate, Degree Programmes in Kaduna Prisons – CCS Kaduna Command
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
The Nigerian Correctional Service, formally known as the Nigerian Prisons, Kaduna State Command, says 38 inmates are currently undergoing postgraduate and degree programmes at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Controller Correctional Service, Sanusi Danmusa, of the Command made this known when he received leaders of Arewa Online Publishers Association (AOPA), in his office on Thursday.
According to him, 2 out of the inmates are doing their postgraduate programme while 36 are doing their degree programme at Kaduna Convict Prison alone which are being sponsored in partnership with the Federal Government, NOUN and the Correctional Service.
He said apart from the programme, so many other skills acquisition trainings are also ongoing at the Kaduna Convict Prison alone as it was then known and all the 14 facilities under his watch.
The CCS, noted that gone are the days when the service was being misunderstood as place of punitive, adding that the in actual sense, it is a place for correction and rehabilitation for those that were rejected by the society.
Controller Danmusa, said one of the major challenge the service is facing is the attitude of the society to reintegrate those that has been rehabilitated back to their normal life, saying there is a lot of stigmatization by the public on those who are out of prison custody.
“By our change of name, more responsibilities has been added to us, this new role is a noncustodial role which includes Community Service and Settlement. The settlement are being done with the order of court of competent jurisdiction, which mean we now work outside the four walls of the service.” He said.
He explained that formally under the prison service, their roles were to keep inmates in safe and humane custody, reform and rehabilitate them, and also reintegrate them back to the society.
He thanked the Online Publishers for stretching their hands of partnership to the service, saying the Kaduna State Command is ready to work with them in ensuring the right information about the service are disseminated.
Earlier in his address to intimate their host with their reason for visit, Chairman of the Association, Comrade Zakari Ahmed, said partnering with the service has become imperative in view of the new development in the service which has resulted to additional responsibilities.
Zakari, noted that there is need for the public to know and understand what those new roles are and to bring to the public what some of the great transformation the service is delivering which are hardly not known the public.
According to him, AOPA, was founded to check the impression that every information online are published by journalists, which is not correct, saying “all our members are seasoned journalists who has accomplished a fit in the journalism profession.
“And we discovered that most people publishing online are not journalists, so we came together to establish this association so we can use the platform to be push for the development of our country.
“So we are here to partner with your organization in all ramification, which means that whenever you have any information you want to disseminate to the public, you share with us and we are ready to support you.
