By Yinusa Ishola
Omu-Aran – The Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti, has advised the management of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) to step up its rehabilitation programmes for prison inmates across the country.
The monarch gave the advice while receiving the management of Omu-Aran Medium Prisons led by its Officer-In-Charge, CSP Hassan Abiodun, in his palace on Tuesday.
According to him, there is the need for more improvement in the vocational training of prison inmates if they must effectively be reintegrated back to the society after the expiration of their jail term.
He said although there had been existing vocational and skills training like carpentry, craft making in the prison system, there was need for expansion to include Information Technology services.
“There is the need for regular upgrading and updating of training curricula if prisons inmates are to align with current vocational demands of the country and global acceptable practices, ‘’ the monarch said.
The monarch emphasised that prisoners must be adequately re-orientated to have the belief that “there is still life and hope of a brighter light at the end of the tunnel after completing their jail term’’.
He appealed to religious organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations to support the prison authorities in the reformation agenda for prisoners across the country.
The traditional ruler appreciated the impact of the Omu-Aran Prison authorities through their regular deployment of inmates to clean his palace and other public institutions in the town.
Earlier, Abiodun, thanked the monarch for the support the NPS had received from the people of the community.
He mentioned occasional donation of food items by the people of the community to the inmates and on-going construction of a mosque and a church chapel within the prison by the two religious bodies in the town.
The prison boss explained that the jurisdiction of the prison authorities in Omu-Aran covered all the seven local government areas in the Kwara South Senatorial District, namely: Ekiti, Isin, Irepodun, Ifelodun, Offa, Oke-Ero and Oyun.
He also praised the leaders and members of Omu-Aran Development Association (ODA) for facilitating the installation of a new transformer to reconnect electricity supply to the prison environment.