Polycarp Sola -Abakaliki
The wife of the Ebonyi State governor, Mrs. Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, on Tuesday secured the release of forty-one inmates of the Abakaliki Medium Security Custodial Centre after paying their fines.
Eye Witness Correspondent reports that the intervention is part of activities marking her Christmas visit to inmates and officers of the center in Abakaliki.
Mrs. Nwifuru urged the inmates to consider their stay in the facility as their fate and called on them to repent from the crimes for which they were convicted and turn a new leaf.
The governor’s wife donated a cash gift to the inmates and encouraged them to take advantage of the exercise and make a change.
She said that her initiative, Better Health for Rural Women, Children, and Internally Displaced Foundation BERWO, aimed at transforming lives.
She stressed the need for the inmates to imbibe good morals and shun crime for the betterment of the society.
She said her passion for assisting the vulnerable and underprivileged members of the society necessitated her visit to the facility.
“This is the second time BERWO is giving such a gesture to inmates in the state. We will continue to give hope to the inmates,” Mrs. Nwifuru said.
The Attorney General of the state, Ben Odo, disclosed that the 41 inmates were secured out of 1,265 inmates from the center.
Odoh, also Commissioner for Justice, appealed to the federal government to decongest the prison.
“Some of the inmates here have stayed for years because they do not have fines to pay,” Odoh said.
He commended the state government for justice delivery and transformation of lives. Earlier in his remarks, the officer in charge of the center, DCC Benedict Oyoko, applauded the governor’s wife for the visit and her kind gesture, which he described as the first of its kind.
Oyoko appealed to her to continue to support the inmates through regular visits and donations.
“I want to appreciate your continued motherly love and care.
“We request your continuous partnership and support for inmates and staff of the center, Oyoko said.
In their remarks, Fr. Henry Ogodo and Pastor Amadi Nwokedi, clergymen, urged the freed inmates to become ambassadors of peace and changed persons in the society.
Emmanuel Nwafor, a 27-year-old beneficiary inmate, said he has been in the prison since August 2023.
“Hardship led me to prison. I stole a genset and was asked to pay a fine of N 100,000, but I couldn’t pay until today, Nwafor said.