NAN-H-36
By Chukwuemeka Opara
Prisons
Abakaliki, Sept.19, 2016 (NAN) The Ebonyi Command of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) on Monday assisted five freed inmates with working tools to enable them earn a living.
The inmates (names withheld) regained their freedom after serving two-year jail terms for conspiracy and attempted murder.
Mrs Emilia Oputa, the NPS State Comptroller, said that the inmates were trained by the service on carpentry, tailoring, and welding, among other vocations.
“They have been presented with items such as tailoring machines and carpentry tools, among others,” she said, adding that training of inmates was a core mandate of the prisons service.
“The freed inmates, all of them males, are married with children and the gesture is expected to enhance the well-being of their families,” Oputa said.
She said that the tools were procured through government funding and individual contributions as the command was constrained financially.
“I encourage the inmates not to be weighed by people’s insinuations about them and concentrate on empowering themselves to be useful to the society.
“They should also shun acts that would make them return to prison custody but serve as sources of motivation to those still serving their sentences,” she said.
One of the freed inmates who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, thanked the prison service for its magnanimity and pledged to shun acts that would be against the law.
NAN reports that the inmates received the items in the presence of their jubilant family members who pledged to guide them to tow dignified paths of life. (NAN)
RCO/ORO/ASH
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Edited by Razak Owolabi