Fred Itua, Abuja
The Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has forfeited her May salary to secure the immediate release of five inmates unable to pay for their fines at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The minister, who made the donation while felicitating with the inmates as part of activities to celebrate this year’s Sallah, said the donation would go a long way in decongesting the overcrowded correctional centre, particularly in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Aliyu assured the inmates that the FCT Administration would take further legal steps to see to the decongestion of the Kuje Correctional Centre.
‘I will not only support the reduction, but I will also lend my voice in the reduction of prison inmates by picking up some bills. I will carry out the campaign and speak to well-meaning Nigerians because you cannot leave the burden of good governance to government alone.
‘We know that some of you are awaiting trial, we know that some have not been tried at all, but provided there is law, we will not be lawless. We will go by the law and get in well-meaning Nigerians and pay up the fines. This will also go a long way to reduce the number besides government pronouncements.
‘Government pronouncement as we all know does not come easily in every nation. If government pronouncement comes very easily, then definitely, the name correctional centre will be misplaced. We know Mr. President recently spoke our minds when he spoke about the need to decongest our prisons.
‘And I know my Minister, a God fearing man, and a man with a heart of gold, he will certainly send message across. God willing, FCT Administration will make moves to decongest our prison based on merit. I in my own capacity, I stand here personally on this Sallah day, I want to donate my salary for the release of 5 inmates.’
Dr Aliyu affirmed that the Correctional Service has been positioned to refine the inmates in the rebuilding of a better society, noting that they could make the best out of the experiences gained at the correctional centre.
‘There are times in our life that we erred, but to err is human and to forgive is divine. There are times in our life that we are put to test; sometimes we passed the test, sometimes we failed the test. For various reasons, we might have found ourselves at the correctional centre. But you know what, you can make the best out of it.
‘As we appreciate you, we pray for you to come out to be a better citizens that will give us a Nigeria of our dreams. Somebody else cannot give us Nigeria of our dreams and you cannot give us Nigeria of our dreams from outside. You can only give us Nigeria of our dream from within, and I know you are already at the preparatory stage. When you leave here either by amnesty or whatever pronouncements, you can only become better citizens,’ Aliyu stated.