Fate on Thursday smiled on five inmates at the Amawbia Correctional Service Center, Anambra State, as a non-governmental organization (NGO), the ABU Foundation, perfected their bail conditions and secured their release from incarceration.
At a short ceremony held at the Correctional Centre, the Founder of the Foundation, Chief Maduaburochukwu Attah, perfected the conditions and took the inmates who have been standing trial for minor offences out of the facility.
The excitement on the faces of the inmates were indescribable as they were alerted impromptu, that they were free, as they screamed for joy.
After their release, the Foundation also presented them with cash support and undertook to assist them start any gainful means of livelihood to ease their reintegration in the society.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) Officers, Nigeria Police delegates from Zone 13 Ukpo, led by it Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ihunwo Josephine, and management team of the Foundation at the NCS facility Amawbia.
The Deputy Controller of Corrections in the facility, Rev Solomon Uba, in a speech, described the efforts of the Foundation towards the facility as highly commendable, noting that his contributions have given the inmates a sense of belonging.
Rev. Uba, who was represented by Officer N.O Harford charged the inmates to abstain from any kind of crime that will warrant them returning to the facility ever again.
The Founder of ABU Foundation, Chief Mmaduaburochukwu Attah, a real estate mogul and transporter, said the gesture is conssistent with what he has been doing for years through the Foundation, to ameliorate the hardship faced by the poor and downtrodden in the society.
According to him, the job of lifting people from poverty should not be left as the sole responsibility of government.
“It is also the duty of every well-to-do individual to always assist the less privilege people around them.
“What you see today is an offshoot of our Foundation’s activities aimed at touching lives.
“This has been on for the past six years now since we incorporated this foundation and I will continue to do it as God blesses me,” Chief Attah assured.
On her part, the Zone 13 PPRO, SP Ihunwo urged the freed inmates to be good ambassadors to their families, communities, their states of origin and the country at large.
She described Chief Attah as a good friend of the 13th Zonal Command of the Nigeria Police, saying that the task of empowering freed inmates to turn away from crime and engage in gainful ventures, will go a long way in assisting the crime fighting efforts of the Police.
While urging him not to relent, SP Ihunwo advised the beneficiaries of his benevolence to turn a new leaf and become good citizens going forward.
In their seperate interviews, the freed inmates, Chidozie Ikile, Chikwube Obiagu, Ebuka Afoba, Izuchukwu Nwosu and Ozodo Uchechukwu, all expressed their profound gratitude to the Foundation for what it did for them, praying God to reward his labour of love towards them.
They promised to reciprocate the gesture by staying away from anything that will bring them back to the prison, which they described as hellfire.
During the ceremony, the foundation distributed packs of toilet tissue papers, cartons of Baby & Me bathing soap and cartons of Gala sausage rolls to the correctional facility.
