The minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has disclosed that corporate bodies and philanthropic individuals donated 585,000,000.00 to pay for the fines of inmates in prisons across the country.
Tunji-Ojo made this known while flagging off the release of inmates sentenced to various terms of imprisonment with the option of fine or compensation at the Kano Maximum Security Custodial Centre.
The minister said the new programme was introduced in a bid to decongest Custodial Centres and make them humane for proper reformation and rehabilitation of offenders to take place.
Represented by Dr Nzekwe Romanus Anayo from the Ministry, the minister said, “Most of the benefitting inmates were on the verge of their freedom and are indigents who cannot afford to pay their fines and are languishing in custody.
“The sum of N 585,000,000.00 was raised by philanthropic individuals, groups and corporate bodies, as part of their corporate social responsibility, for this purpose nationwide, out of which the sum of 13,436,780.00 was spent in Kano state.
“All inmates in Custodial Centres who have fines and or compensation not exceeding N1,000,000.00 are qualified and would benefit from this gesture. In addition, we are also providing each of them a stipend to enable them to return to their communities.
“Suffice it to mention at this point that we are not just releasing them to their fates; we have given them requisite training aimed at impacting their lives functionally and equipping them with the knowledge for their self-reliance upon discharge. The training also covers their civic duties and responsibilities as citizens and strategies for refraining from reoffending.”
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