The Deputy Controller in-charge of Ikoyi Prisons, Mr. Julius Ezugwu has commended the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) and its partners for their efforts in decongesting Nigerian prisons and reforming the justice sector.

He stated this last weekend in Lagos during an event jointly organized by PRAWA in collaboration with the Prison Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Joy Givers Foundation to honour prison officers.

The project is a collaboration between PRAWA and the Nigerian Prisons Service with the support of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Ezugwu also commended the efforts of the collaboration and described it as a success. His words: “On access to justice, the Prison Reform Project (PRP) of the Security and Justice Reform Programme (SJRD) that was inaugurated recently has recorded a lot of success. I have handed over so many inmates to the PRAWA team and they have been able to dispose some of the cases.

He also noted that cases which were supposed to be “no-go areas” such as murder cases had been cracked by the PRAWA team after painstakingly reviewing the proof of evidence, adding: “You are bringing down the prison population and I want to enjoin you to continue helping us, as
such cases arise daily.”

He added that some former inmates have become employers of labour, stating that this has been aided by the skill acquisition programme embarked upon by the Nigerian Prisons Service.

Other dignitaries at the event were the former Lagos State Controller of Prisons, Mr. Olumide Tinuoye; his successor, Mr. Tunde Ladipo; former Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. James Caulcrick as well as PRAWA Founder and Senior Prisons Expert/Lead Advisor, Nigerian Security & Justice Programme of the British Government, Dr. Uju Agomoh who spoke on “Partnership and Synergy in Corrections.”

News conveyed by: https://guardian.ng/features/controller-commends-prison-decongestion-justice-sector-reforms/