Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state has called for a change in the mindset of prison inmates and upgrade of prison infrastructure to ensure a successful prison reform.
Governor Okowa made the call when the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory FCT and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Decongestion, Justice Ishaku visited him in Asaba.
The Governor said crime rate was on the increase without any expansion and upgrade of prison facilities, pointing out that the situation posed a serious threat to present day prison reform.
He also called for the abolition of the death sentence for some categories of convicts and urged the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform to review cases of condemned prisoners across the country.
The Governor said mind set change should be an integral part of prison reform in order to discourage ex convicts from going back to crime as part of activities to reintegrate them in the society.
Governor Okowa said skills acquisition should also be given a priority attention, pointing out that his administration would extend the state government’s job and wealth creation programmes to prison inmates.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Decongestion, Justice Ishaku, said the committee was determined to proffer solutions to the problem of congestion in the nation’s prisons.
Justice Ishaku appealed to the Delta state government to assist in the payment of fines of inmates who were given the option, and gave an assurance that the nation’s prisons would continue to witness massive reforms through the presidential committee.
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