Olusegun Ariyo
Six inmates of the Umuahia Custodial Centre of the Nigeria Correctional Service, NCoS, have graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, with five of them earning Second Class Upper Division honours.
This was disclosed on Monday in Umuahia by Sarafina Nwokonnta, the Chief Operations Officer of Vision Africa Radio, when the President of Vision Africa, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, hosted members of the Abia State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
According to Nwokonnta, Vision Africa funded some inmates to write the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) O-level papers within the correctional centre. Additionally, inmates sponsored by the organisation graduated with commendable results from the university.
She said, “We have six graduates today, and out of the six, five came out with Second Class Upper Division, and they are happy about it.”
Nwokonnta emphasised that providing education to the inmates would help reform them into better citizens and give them a strong foundation for reintegration into society after serving their sentences.
Earlier, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, the Methodist Bishop and President of Vision Africa expressed concern over the alarming trend of stampede-related deaths caused by hunger and injustice in the country.
Onuoha stressed the urgent need to address the suffering of impoverished citizens. He warned that failure to tackle the hunger and unemployment crises could lead to extreme reactions from citizens.
