Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and Nuga Best International, a non-governmental organization (NGO), have promised to strengthen the rehabilitation and mental health of inmates.
The two bodies gave the commitment during the grand finale of a football tournament, organised for inmates at Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to them, the collaboration will boost the existing partnership between the two organisations in reforming the lives of inmates.
The Controller of Corrections, FCT command, Mr Ibrahim Idris, said that the football competition was one of the reformative programmes designed for inmates at the facilities.
Idris, represented by the Assistant Controller of Correction, Mr Godson Ihesinulo, said that the tournament was designed to help the inmates’ physical and emotional wellbeing, including their mental health.
“What is happening is not something new because sporting activity is one of the reformative programmes in the correctional facility.
“Today is the final day of the on-going tournament being sponsored by Nuga Best and other partners which include domain shelters, Afri-Europeans and livebridge properties.
“You see, when you have over 600 people locked up in a facility and you don’t have a programme like this, there will be war.
”This programme lightens up and takes tension away from them and makes them think less of crime or any attempt to escape from the correctional service.
“What we also intend to achieve is that the inmates will be able to build up their outlook and health and as well help them to have positive spirit for the future.
“Sports help in remodeling their mental attitude, to know how to approach and think about the happenings around them,” he said.
The NCoS chief commended the NGOs for sponsoring the programme, aside the many other supports they had provided for inmates in various correctional facilities.
He appealed to other public-spirited individuals to key into the programme that Nuga Best and other NGOs had been bringing to the facilities.
“The importance cannot be over-emphasised because it reduces tension and when that happens, it makes work simple for the officers and men of the service,” he said.
Speaking at the occasion, Founder of Nuga Best International, Hillary Chukwuma, said that he had developed interest in organising sports for the inmates to let them know that they had people who still loved them.
Chukwuma said that the NGO had been collaborating with NCoS for years to support the inmates and rehabilitate ex-inmates.
According to him, lots of ex-inmates have been rehabilitated to become responsible citizens.
“We are trying not to make the inmates feel less of themselves. We want them to understand that there is still hope. Coming together from different religions to play together like this gives them hope.
“We have a rehabilitation centre. Most inmates, who were not graduates before now, are now graduates. We have tried our best to reintegrate them to be better persons than when they came into the centre,” he said.
The inmates of Kuje Custodial Centre started the one-month football tournament in November.
The event saw seven teams contesting, namely: NUGA BEST FC, Livebridge FC, MFM FC, Chizo FC, Afri-European FC, Domain FC and JR Spotlight FC.
The match ended in a 5-1 victory by JR spotlight FC.
