The Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has commenced plans to establish a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS to strengthen the rehabilitation, empowerment and reintegration of inmates in the state.
The collaboration is focused particularly on women and young persons in conflict with the law within correctional facilities across Edo State.
The partnership was discussed when the Controller of Corrections, Edo State Command, CCS Julius Osemwegie led a delegation on an official visit to the Ministry in Benin City, where both institutions explored areas of collaboration in vocational training, education, sports, recreation, social welfare and non-custodial services.
Receiving the delegation the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Eugenia Abdallah, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Joy Ihensekhien, described the visit as timely and significant, noting that the mandates of both institutions were closely aligned in promoting rehabilitation, welfare and the restoration of vulnerable persons to productive lives.
Hon Abdallah said the Ministry was particularly interested in interventions targeted at female inmates, vulnerable youths and juveniles in conflict with the law, assuring the Correctional Service of the Ministry’s willingness to explore practical areas of collaboration.
She proposed the utilisation of the Ministry’s existing skill acquisition centres to provide inmates with vocational and entrepreneurial skills that would enhance their chances of becoming self-reliant upon release.
According to her, the Ministry would work with the Correctional Service to obtain relevant data on inmates and determine how existing programmes could be extended to the custodial centres at White House, Sapele Road, Benin City, and Auchi.
She also expressed the Ministry’s readiness to strengthen interventions at the Children Correctional Centre, particularly through sports, recreation, education and other programmes aimed at supporting the rehabilitation and positive development of juveniles in conflict with the law.
Earlier, the Controller of Corrections, CCS Julius Osemwegie said the visit was aimed at establishing a sustainable institutional relationship between the NCoS and the Ministry, stressing the importance of collaboration in achieving effective reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration.
The Controller highlighted the growing importance of non-custodial measures, including community service and suspended sentences, as modern approaches to correcting offenders, particularly first-time offenders, while reducing unnecessary custodial congestion.
He also sought the Ministry’s support for female inmates through vocational and educational training, recreational activities and other welfare interventions capable of improving their mental wellbeing and preparing them for successful reintegration into society.
The Controller emphasised the need for the proposed partnership to be institutionalised so that it would remain sustainable beyond changes in leadership or individual tenures.
The meeting further recalled an earlier engagement between the two institutions concerning support for the juvenile correctional facility. The Commissioner noted that the relationship was particularly significant, given the Controller’s previous academic research at the state’s juvenile facility during his doctoral studies.
Both institutions agreed to pursue follow-up technical engagements to identify priority areas, assess the needs and population of inmates, and develop a framework with clear timelines for implementation.
