As part of its effort to scale up the frontiers of its re-entry education programmes in the country on counselling, the Counselling Association of Nigeria, (CASSON), Oyo State chapter, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Oyo State Judiciary in collaboration with the Justice Development and Peace Commission, Ibadan, the state capital.
The state chairman, Dr Nididi Ofole, who led the team of the incorporated trustees of the association and state executives to the Probate and Community Service Office of the Oyo State Judiciary, High Court, Ibadan, said the move was aimed at providing counselling services for the rehabilitation of offenders in the state’s correctional centres (formerly known as the prison.)
According to her, the MoU has been a long-awaited dream of the association to support the judiciary in educating offenders in the state in order to transform, reset them mentally and prepare them to contribute meaningfully to society after their tenures in prison.
She assured that the collaboration would yield a positive result in terms of human resources, noting that, Oyo CASSON had what it takes professionally to provide a well-organised and effective community services, adding that CASSON is a 46-year-old association with 36 chapters in Nigeria and the FCT with a strong base both in terms of membership and reputation.
The deputy chief registrar, Oyo State Judiciary, Mrs Olumide Ogunrin, who received the entourage on behalf of the Chief Judge, Honourable Justice, M.L Abimbola, noted that the collaboration with CASSON was timely.
She said the current global health situation through COVID 19 had made community services far more valuable and much appreciated in the judicial system at this sensitive time when correctional services, the new name of Nigeria\s prisons, could not afford taking in more offenders while COVID-19 lasted, but had to follow practice direction by the Chief Judge punishing offenders through community service.
She commended Oyo CASSON for its patience and for not losing interest throughout the period of processing the MoU, saying “I look forward to us having a great working relationship.”
Speaking at the event, CASSON’s trustee, Professor Ayo Hammed, said, “the absence of re-entry education programmes for convicted persons at the correction centres had made many of the convicted persons gone back to jail because they felt they didn’t have relevance in the society.”
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