Group Frees 18 Inmates, Donates Drugs  

Group Frees 18 Inmates, Donates Drugs   

A group, under the aegis of Society of St Vincent De Paul yesterday secured freedom for 18 prisoners at the Katsina State Prison after paying their fines ranging from N5,000 and N10,000 as part of its corporate social responsibilities.

The group also donated drugs, food and clothes worth thousands of naira to the inmates who were still awaiting trial in order to take care of their health challenges and sufferings.  Addressing the 18 inmates shortly after their release, the Katsina State President of the Society, Mr. Felix Aboh urged the ex-convicts to strive towards becoming responsible citizens when resettled in their communities. He said: “I urged you to cultivate the culture of change and embrace good moral conduct, and participate in meaningful programmes that would better your lives and make you self-reliant. We brought you message of hope, you should not see your imprisonment as the end of life, but the beginning of a fresh challenge, see your condition as moral correction rather than condemnation. We are appealing to Non-governmental organisations and spirited individuals to support this outreach to ensure that millions of those languishing in prisons across this country were reached and assisted in rebuilding their lives’’.

According to him, “Part of our mandate is to ensure that the less-privileged are given opportunities for economic empowerment as a safeguard for societal peace”. He explained that the group would uphold the gesture regularly to de-congest the prisons and give a second chance to mostly the young convicts to make amends. One of the freed inmates, Abba Ahmed, thanked the group for its magnanimity and assured that they would strive to live a responsible lives to justify the gesture.

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