.Urges govt. to review sentences of repentant convicts
AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
The inmates at the Agodi Correctional Centre, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital were filled with excitement on Monday, August 22, as a team of Christian worshipers from the Nigerian Baptist Convention, led by its National President, Rev. Israel Akanji, paid them a visit.
The inmates expressed joy as the Christian group distributed a total of 1,000 loafs of bread among them as their token of love after preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and praying for them.
The visit by the NBC to the Nigerian Correctional Centre was part of activities marking the birth anniversary of the President of the Convention.
In an interview with journalists on the occasion, Akanji explained that he was touched to reach out to the convicts in line with God’s mandate and command to Christians across the globe as evidenced in the Holy Bible.
He said, “Birthdays are marked in different ways; we have chosen to celebrate my birth anniversary with the inmates. It is important for some of us who are opportune to come to places like this to show love to the inmates. All have sinned. We should give hope to the inmates and we are here to give them hope. We encouraged them to rest their hope on Jesus.
“During Easter, we came here to visit, pray and share the word of God with the inmates. We believe that the word of God and the efforts of the officials at the centre would bring them into newness. We were not just a blessing to them, they were also a blessing to us.
“These inmates made mistakes in life just like all of us did at one time or another. It is just by mercy that our own mistakes had been covered. We are all susceptible to making mistakes. We believe that some of these people would come to contribute their quotas to the development of our nation and their family. We cannot write them off.”
He expressed joy that the inmates conducted themselves with orderliness, noting that “They see the Superintendent as their father. For us, the greatest gift you can give humanity is love. We are really encouraged and impressed about the sanitation at the centre.”
Meanwhile, the NBC President has seized the occasion to charge both the federal and state governmentsto upgrade the facilities at the nation’s correctional centres. He also harped on the need for government to collaborate with key stakeholders on the development of the various centres.
“There are over 1,000 inmates here and they are human beings like us. Things that give us problems are things that give them problems. We must not neglect part of humanity that is going through suffering.
“For us as Christians, it is a mandate and command. We are sorry that we have not done enough. We can only ask God to forgive us and do more for those at the margins of life like those at the correctional centre.
“Definitely, there is always room for improvements. For one, government should improve upon monitoring at the prisons. It is not enough to send people to jail for 10years, 15 or 20years, but are you monitoring and are there reports about the prisoners?
“The fact that you have 15-year-term does not mean you have to spend the 15 years. If you are monitoring, inmate may be out before the expiration of the jail term. There is need for continuous monitoring of the activities at the centers. Then, there is need for provision of more facilities. Over a thousand people are staying there. It needs continuous sanitation. You know, the environment must be sanitized to forestall epidemic.”
In his address, the Comptroller of the Agodi Correctional Centre, Oyo State Command, SO Ayodele, said that “The inmates are produced by the society and they are going to come back to the society. The society should not stigmatize them. Whatever reform we do here might not work if the people continue to stigmatize them and make them feel unwanted.”
