Six Nigerian inmates studying for PhD, 1,000 pursuing first degrees — NCoS

Over 1,000 Nigerian prison inmates are currently pursuing university degrees, with six of them studying for PhDs, according to the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS).

The Federal Government has also increased the feeding allowance for inmates by 50% in response to the rising cost of food.

Speaking at the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee’s monthly press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, NCoS spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, highlighted the progress made in reforming and rehabilitating inmates through education.

He revealed that in addition to the six inmates pursuing PhDs, 282 others are working towards diplomas and Master’s degrees.

“Let me say here that currently, in an effort to ensure that we have what I refer to as public safety through our reformatory activities, we have over 1,000 of our inmates who are actually going through their various degree programmes, 282 doing their diploma and Master’s degree programmes, and six that are doing their PhD programme. Three of the PhD students are already writing their thesis,” Abubakar said.

“All this is geared towards our efforts to ensure that we change the psyche and behaviour of our inmates, and to help their re-entry back to society,” he added.

Addressing a recent viral video showing inmates at the Calabar Correctional Centre complaining about inadequate feeding, Abubakar clarified that the footage does not reflect the true state of correctional facilities in the country.

“The viral video is not a representation of the Nigeria Correctional Service, nor is it a mandate of the service on the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates,” he explained, adding that an investigation into the video is ongoing.

On the issue of the feeding allowance, he said, “The Federal Government has actually reviewed the feeding allowance of inmates in our custody with 50 per cent. And this is just the first phase of the review.”

The spokesperson stressed that the NCoS is committed to creating a conducive environment for skill acquisition and education, saying, “It is the care we give to these inmates in our custody that has provided a serene environment to help them learn skill acquisition across our custodial centres.”

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